A sensor and a preparation method thereof are provided, the sensor includes a sensor substrate, functional cuts, crack-arrest holes, a patterned electrode, wires, an adhesive layer, and release paper. The preparation method includes following steps, preparing the sensor substrate and sticking the adhesive layer on the sensor substrate; then sticking the release paper on the adhesive layer; obtaining the functional cuts by laser cutting or blanking process; pasting a metal mask on a surface of the sensor substrate; depositing a material of the patterned electrode into a gap of the metal mask; removing the metal mask after a solvent of the liquid is volatilized; leading out the wires from patterned electrode pins; obtaining the sensor eventually. The sensor has advantages such as controllable adhesion, small size, light weight, sensitive sensing and simple manufacturing. The sensors are arrayable and suitable for sticking and sensing of large deformation and complex surfaces.

Controllable adhesion is very important for flexible electronic devices, biopharmaceutics and other fields. It is not only an important condition to ensure the functionality of devices, but also closely related to the precise positioning, adsorption, separation and transfer of materials or devices. Adhesion of traditional sensors is generally realized by pressure. The traditional sensors have sensitive response and strong performance, but the adhesion of the traditional sensors is uncontrollable. Either the adhesion is firm and difficult to tear off, or the adhesion is weak and difficult to adhere. It is particularly difficult to achieve controllable adhesion and separation, and once the traditional sensors are separated from the surface, they are difficult to be used again, and the reuse rate of them is very low. In addition, in order to obtain strong adhesion, some sensors usually use adhesive agents with high viscosity, resulting in separating the sensors from devices are difficult and leaving the adhesive agents on surfaces of the devices, therefore removing the adhesive agents are difficult and affecting the use of the devices. It can be seen that it is difficult to control adhesion and separation. If good adhesion and easy separation can be achieved at the same time, it has a great significance to improve production efficiency.
People have explored ways of achieving the controllable adhesion by designing different microstructures. Such as bionic mechanical claws inspired by geckos, and fiber arrays; but cost of them are high due to their precise sizes, complex structures and vulnerabilities. Therefore, a design of patterning adhesive interfaces has been paid more and more attention. The design generally controls adhesion by changing material properties or interface properties in specific areas.
The design is often applied to sensors or materials with thin thickness, such as manufacturing and transportation of wafers and printed circuit boards. However, the existing patterning technology is difficult to have strong adhesion and easy separation.

Sensor with controllable adhesion and preparation method thereof


A surface light source device is provided with a primary light source and light guide plate. The light guide plate has an incidence side face opposite to which the primary light source employing LEDs or the like is disposed, an emission face for emitting light, which has been incident to the incidence side face, during the propagation process, and a back face oppositely located with respect to the emission face. The back face may be provided with a plurality of prism projections running generally vertically to the incidence side face. The primary light source has an effective light emitting surface provided with length L in a thickness direction of the light guide plate, which is not smaller than thickness t of the light guide plate at the incidence side face. This causes primary light to be incident to the incidence side face as to cover from an upper edge to lower edge thereof, preventing dark parts from being generated. As a result, the emission face comes to avoid stripe-like uneven brightness from appearing thereon.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a surface light source device which is applicable to backlighting for liquid crystal display and other various devices for illumination or display.
2. Related Art
A known liquid crystal display has a liquid crystal display panel on the back side of which a surface light source device is disposed for backlighting. The surface light source device is provided with a light guide plate having a size and plane shape the same as those of the liquid crystal display panel, a primary light source disposed beside the light guide plate and a reflection plate disposed on the back side of the light guide plate, being called surface light source device of side light type.
Demand for thin-structured liquid crystal displays has been growing recent years. This brings a tendency that surface light source devices employ thin light guide plates. Such a tendency requires small light emitting sources. Small-sized light emitting sources (primary light sources) are used for supplying light to thin light guide plates. Light emitting diode (LED) is a typical small light source. FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate surface light source device 100 employing LEDs 101 as light emitting source (primary light source) 101 in accordance with a prior art. LEDs 101 are disposed at a side face of light guide plate 102. Each LED denoted by reference numeral 101 is package-type LED, including a light emitting portion (light emitting element) 103.
Each light emitting portion (light emitting element) 103 is resin-sealed by resin package 104 so that light radiating face 103A is exposed from resin package 104. As shown in FIG. 4, the thickness of LED 101 including package 104 is set to that of light guide plate 102 at the side face (incidence side face) opposite to LED 101 for the sake of convenience in assembling. Accordingly, the length of light radiating face 103A along light guide plate thickness is smaller than the thickness of light guide plate 102 at the incidence side face.
Another prior art is disclosed in Tokkai-Hei 10-293202 (pp. 3 to 4, FIG. 1), also showing that the length of a light radiating face along light guide plate thickness is shorter than the thickness of a light guide plate in the vicinity of an incidence side face. Such light guide plates are subject to unevenness in brightness that appears on an emission face in the vicinity of an incidence side face. According to the above prior art, a plurality of grooves giving incident light diversified travelling directions are formed on the incidence side face for preventing this.
However, the brightness unevenness preventing art is apt to fail to reduce enough unevenness in brightness because LED is disposed so that its light radiating face is in contact with (or very close to) an incidence side face of an light guide plate. This situation is illustrated exemplarily in FIGS. 4 and 5.
There are upper and lower areas 105A, 105B on which light radiating face 103A does not abut since light radiation face 103A can not cover the thickness of light guide plate 102 at incidence side face 105 as described above. Primary light is not incident to areas 105A and 15B, providing a shade source which generates dark band 106 in light guide plate 102. This dark band 106 causes emission face 102A of light guide plate 102 to have stripe-like uneven brightness, which is observed as shown in FIG. 5. In other words, illumination light has a reduced quality.
A known light guide plate has a generally rectangular emission face (a major face) and a generally wedge-shaped cross section, being used frequently. The light guide plate has a back face (another major face opposite to the emission face) which is inclined as to get closer according to an increasing distance from an incidence side face. It is also known to form a plurality of prism projections running vertically to the incidence side face on the back face.
If such a light guide plate is used with a LED disposed as described above, incident light is reflected toward the emission face, after entering within the light guide plate, in a manner such that the light gets a restricted angular extension due to being effected by the prism projections formed on the back face. As a result, the foresaid dark band is not expanded, being seen clearly on the emission face. This tends to bring a conspicuous stripe-like uneven brightness.
As described above, a liquid crystal display employing surface light source device 100 involving dark band 106 is hardly able to provide a high-quality image on a liquid crystal display panel.


A washer having a pair of offset legs. In addition to the offset legs, the washer includes a tub, a front frame and a rear frame. The tub defines a wash chamber with a front opening and includes a bottom wall and opposing side walls. The front frame has a pair of legs respectively disposed adjacent to the opposing side walls of the tub toward the front opening. The rear frame has a pair of horizontal legs with outer ends and a pair of vertical supports. The vertical supports are disposed rearward from the legs of the front frame. The horizontal legs are secured to the vertical supports and extend forward therefrom to the outer ends. The offset legs each have a neck and an upright member. The necks are offset forward of the upright members and are respectively secured to the legs of the front frame. The upright members are respectively secured to the horizontal legs toward the outer ends.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to washers in general and, more particularly, to support structures for dishwashers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A tub for a washer, such as dishwasher, often has an integrally molded plastic construction and a front opening for providing access to an interior wash chamber. Typically, the tub includes a pair of side walls and a top wall, all of which flare outward near the front opening so as to form a collar with a recessed shoulder. The recessed shoulder provides a seat for a door that closes the front opening.
With plastic tubs, a front frame and a rear frame are provided to support the tub. Typically, the front frame is horseshoe-shaped and has a pair of parallel vertical legs that project downward from a bight. The front frame abuts an exterior surface of the collar and helps prevent lateral movement of the tub. The rear frame usually has a support member that is secured to a pair of horizontal legs that project forward toward the front of the tub. Usually, the vertical legs of the front frame extend downward to the horizontal legs of the rear frame and are secured thereto.
A pair of mounting plates are secured to the vertical legs to provide a mount for the door that closes the front opening in the tub. Each mounting plate has a base and an outer end. The bases are secured to the vertical legs by welding or other means.
The door usually has opposing sides with hinge arms secured thereto. Each of the hinge arms typically has an elongated body and a head with an opening formed therein. The door is pivotally secured to the mounting plates by pintles that extend through the openings in the heads. The pintles are either secured to the outer ends of the mounting plates or are pivotally received within holes formed in the outer ends of the mounting plates. The door is movable between a closed position wherein the door covers the front opening and an open position wherein the door is spaced from the front opening. In the closed position, the door is substantially vertical, while in the open position, the door is substantially horizontal.
The lengths of the mounting plates between the bases and the outer ends are sized to permit a bottom portion of the door to pivot underneath the mounting plates when the door is pivoted from the closed position to the open position. Since in most prior art washers the door pivots about a horizontal axis that passes through the door at or near a bottom edge of the door, the bottom portion of the door is small. Accordingly, the mounting plates are short. If, however, the horizontal axis is spaced upward from the bottom edge, the bottom portion of the door will be large. Such a door, often called a "long door", requires mounting plates that are long. In order to accommodate long mounting plates, the front frame of the washer must be set back farther from the front opening, which is undesirable. The farther the front frame is set back, the less support the front frame provides to the tub around the front opening. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a washer having a structure that provides a pivot connection for a long door without requiring a front frame to be set back from a front opening. The present invention is directed to such a washer.


An optoelectronic component may include: at least one layer of the optoelectronic component; at least one adhesive on the layer of the optoelectronic component; and a cover on the at least one adhesive; wherein the at least one adhesive is cured only in a partial region above at least one of a substrate and the layer.

Organic light emitting diodes (OLED), in particular stacked organic light emitting diodes, have hitherto been susceptible to roughnesses on the substrate surfaces or particles or inhomogeneities in the layers or the like which are incorporated into the layers of the organic light emitting diodes during processing. Such particles can lead to so-called latent short circuits (also designated as hotspots) in a respective organic light emitting diode, which initially inter alia cannot yet be detected, i.e. for example have no signature in infrared spectroscopy or have an increased electrical background signal. However, such hotspots can later lead to failures of the OLED during the operation of the OLED.
In order to avoid such spontaneous short circuits of stacked OLEDs, it is customary to provide a thick doped hole conductor layer (hole injection layer (HIL), also designated as hole transport layer (HTL)), usually having a layer thickness of several hundred nm, as a so-called shorts protection layer. Particles or the like are thereby intended to be leveled. However, suitable materials therefor are still very expensive and constitute a considerable cost factor. It generally holds true that the thicker the HIL layer, the greater the short-circuit resistance of the OLED.

Optoelectronic component and method for producing an optoelectronic component


The invention includes a shielding film, which does not have breakage of a metal layer, and has excellent abrasion resistance and blocking resistance, and does not crack. The cover film 7 is provided on one surface of a separation film 6a, and an adhesive layer 8a is formed on the surface of the cover film 7 opposite to the separation film 6a via the metal layer. The cover film 7 has at least one hard layer 7a and at least one soft layer 7b, and the surface of the cover film 7 facing the separation film 6a is composed of the hard layer 7a.

A flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter, referred to as 'FPC') has a printed circuit, which is provided on at least one surface of a flexible insulating film such as a polyimide film or a polyester film with or without an adhesive between the printed circuit and the flexible film. According to need, a flexible insulating film having openings is adhered on the surface of the printed circuit by an adhesive, or a protective layer is formed on the surface of the printed circuit. The openings are formed on the flexible insulating film so as to correspond to portions on which terminals used to mount circuit components or terminals used to be connected with an external board are formed. The protective layer is formed on the surface of the printed circuit by methods of coating, drying, exposing, developing, and heat-treating a photosensitive insulating resin. The FPC is widely used to build a circuit into a complex mechanism of an electronic device such as a mobile phone, video camera, personal lap top computer or the like which have been rapidly miniaturized and multi-functionalized. In addition, the FPC is also used to connect a moving unit such as a printer head with a control unit due to its excellent flexibility. A shielding countermeasure against electromagnetic wave has been required for the electronic device in which the FPC is widely used. Accordingly, a shielded flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter, referred to as a 'shielded FPC') having the shielding countermeasure against electromagnetic wave has been used as the FPC to be built in the device.
In addition, similar to a flex rigid board or a flexboard (registered trade mark), the following FPC has been used recently. In the FPC, the printed circuit board is partially laminated to form multilayered portions used to mount components, and cable portions extend outside from the multilayered portions. Specifically, Similar to the electronic device, shielding countermeasures against electromagnetic wave have been required for the cable portions of the boards.
The shielded FPC uses a flexible insulating film as a cover film. Furthermore, a shielding layer is provided on one surface of the cover film, and a releasable adhesive film having adhesion is adhered on the other surface of the cover film in order to form a reinforcement-shielding film. Then, the shielding film is adhered on at least one surface of the FPC by using a conductive adhesive and by heating and pressing the shielding film and the FPC. Further, after the shielding layer is electrically connected to the grounding circuit formed on the FPC by the conductive adhesive, the adhesive film is released. Here, when an electric connection between the shielding layer and the grounding circuit is not particularly required, a normal adhesive not having conductivity may be used instead of the conductive adhesive to adhere the shielding layer to the grounding circuit. The FPC is directly connected to a rigid circuit board, or the multilayered portions used to mount components are formed to be connected to the cable portions like the flex rigid board or the flexboard. In this case, according to need, a shielding layer is also provided on a rigid circuit board or the multilayered portions used to mount components similar to the above-mentioned structure. Therefore, it is possible to adequately manage electromagnetic wave.
However, there are many cases where the cover film used in the shielding film is made of engineering plastic such as polyphenylenesulfide (PPS), polyester, aromatic aramid, and the thickness of the cover film is thick (for example, 9 μm) or the stiffness thereof is strong. For this reason, the flexibility of the cover film deteriorates. Moreover, when the adhesive film is released from the shielded FPC and then a glass epoxy board or the like is adhered on the cover film to reinforce the shielded FPC, PPS barely adheres to the glass epoxy board or the like due to the fact that PPS has difficulty in adhesion.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the following shielding film and a method of manufacturing the shielding film has been disclosed in JP-A-2004-95566. In the shielding film, a resin having excellent thermal resistance and adhesiveness is coated on one surface of a separation film via a release agent layer to form the shielding film, and an adhesive layer is further provided on the cover film via a metal layer. Here, since the cover film has excellent flexibility and is formed by the coating method, the thickness of the cover film is thin, that is, about 5 μm. In addition, since the cover film has adhesion, it is possible to easily adhere a glass epoxy board after the release of the separation film.

Shielding film, shielded printed circuit board, shielded flexible printed circuit board, method of manufacturing shielding film, and method of manufacturing shielded printed circuit board


A mount support of a force connection strut is provided manufactured from plastic/metal composite materials for a chassis of a motor vehicle. The force connection strut has an elongated basic body and a sleeve (H) passing through the basic body. The sleeve (H) has a flange (F) on at least one side and is connected to the basic body by extrusion coating with plastic at least at one of its ends.

A similar mount support of a chassis part is known from DE 199 31 079 A1. This German unexamined patent application discloses a chassis part with a narrow spring characteristic, and this chassis part, which may be, e.g., an axle guide, has an elongated basic structure in the form of a strut, and openings are provided at the ends of the strut, and an outer sleeve, in which a pad made of an elastomer material, with another inner bush is in turn arranged, is located in the said openings. In a special embodiment, the sleeve has a crowned expansion in its middle. The fastening of the sleeve in the basic body is not described more specifically, but it seems to be achieved by pressing the sleeve together with the basic body.
One problem in such pressed-in sleeves may be that the sleeve may separate from the basic body during the operation due to the axial forces that occur.

Bearing seat of a tension strut made of composite materials


Methods of dep-etch in semiconductor devices (e.g. V-NAND) are described. A metal layer is deposited in a feature. The metal layer is removed by low temperature atomic layer etching by oxidizing the surface of the metal layer and etching the oxide in a layer-by-layer fashion. After removal of the metal layer, the features are filled with a metal.

As semiconductor devices continue to increase in design and material component complexity, the selective removal of materials has become critical for continued scaling and improvement of semiconductor devices. Selective atomic layer etching (ALE) has emerged as a precise etching method that employs self-limiting surface reactions. Selective ALE of metal oxides (MOx) is particularly important for a number of semiconductor technologies but can be difficult to accomplish due to the inherent stability of these oxide materials.
V-NAND, or 3D-NAND, structures are used in flash memory applications. V-NAND devices are vertically stacked NAND structures with a large number of cells arranged in blocks. Gate-last wordline formation is currently the mainstream process flow in 3D-NAND manufacturing. Prior to wordline formation, the substrate is a layered oxide stack supported by a memory string. The gap space is filled by tungsten using CVD or ALD. The top/sidewall of the memory stack is also coated with tungsten. The tungsten is removed from the top/sidewall of the stack by etch process (e.g., a reactive-ion etch (RIE) process or radical-based etch process) so that the tungsten exists only inside of the gap space and each tungsten fill is completely separated from other tungsten fills. However, due to the loading effect of the etch process, the separation etch often results in different wordline recess from at the top of the stack than at the bottom. This difference becomes more pronounced with increasing oxide stack layers.
In a multi-tier VNAND tungsten fill, there are challenges in filling tungsten, especially in buried world lines. Deposition-etch cyclic techniques are being pursued to generate better gapfill. Currently, however, there are no cyclic deposition-etch processes available that generate effective tungsten gapfill.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods of etching tungsten, particularly in NAND applications.

Selective and self-limiting tungsten etch process


An apparatus for connecting two generators to run in parallel including a conductive path that connects the generators to an electrical load, a switching circuit that opens/closes the conductive path, a current sensor that detects current flowing the conductive path and an electronic control unit comprising a microcomputer. The control unit functions as a generator model identifier that inputs a signal indicating a model ID from each generator and determines whether the model ID corresponds to data stored in memory, and a switching circuit operator that operates the circuit to close the conductive path to connect the generators to the electrical load when the model ID corresponds to the data, while operates it to open the conductive path when the current is not detected by the current sensor after the conductive path was closed, thereby preventing the outputs of other generators from appearing at the terminals of a disconnected plug and damage to the generators.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connection apparatus for parallel running generators, particularly to an apparatus for connecting generators to run in parallel.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a plurality of, e.g. two, generators are run or operated in parallel, a problem is encountered that if a plug connected with one of the generators disconnects, the output of the other generator appears at the terminals (blades) of the disconnected plug. To cope with this problem, it has been the practice to pre-equip the generators with dedicated parallel running sockets provided with insulating covers and to interconnect the sockets by means of a dedicated cable during parallel running.
Further, as taught by Japanese Patent No. 2,869,905, it is also known to deal with this problem by providing the apparatus having two plugs connectable with sockets of the two generators and one output socket connectable to the electrical load and by responding to disconnection of one of the plugs by breaking the connection between its ground terminal and a dedicated ground terminal so as to turn off the switch of a downstream relay, thereby preventing the output of the other generator from appearing at the terminals (blades) of the disconnected plug.

Connection apparatus for parallel running generators


A semiconductor sensor is disclosed that includes a substrate including at least a semiconductor layer. The substrate includes a weight arranging part in the vicinity of the center of the substrate, a flexible part around the weight arranging part, and supporting parts provided around the flexible part. The semiconductor sensor further includes a weight arranged on the weight arranging part. The weight is made of a material different from that of the weight arranging part and the flexible parts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a semiconductor sensor having a piezoresistance element such as a semiconductor acceleration sensor and a semiconductor angular velocity sensor and a method of manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a semiconductor sensor and a method of manufacturing the same in which the position of a weight shifts, which weight is supported by a flexible part where a piezoresistor is formed so as to detect a change in resistance of the piezoresistor, and thereby the sensor measures acceleration.
The semiconductor sensor is used for measuring the acceleration of a moving car in a forward direction or in a crosswise direction. The semiconductor sensor is also used for measuring the degree of jiggling of a hand upon using a camcorder.
In the present specification, a semiconductor substrate includes not only a substrate in which only a semiconductor is used but also an SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) substrate in which an insulating film is formed therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
As for the semiconductor sensor, an acceleration sensor which is mounted on a car is publicly known. For example, as shown in FIGS. 10A through 10D, a cantilever acceleration detection unit in which a piezoresistor is used is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H8-7228.
FIGS. 10A through 10D are views illustrating a conventional semiconductor sensor. FIG. 10A is a perspective view. FIG. 10B is a plan view. FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ shown in FIG. 10B. FIG. 10D is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B′ shown in FIG. 10B.
A semiconductor sensor 71 is formed by processing an SOI substrate 3 in which an insulating layer 7 is sandwiched between a second semiconductor layer 5 and a semiconductor layer 9.
On a surface side 3a of the SOI substrate 3, plural flexible parts 73 comprising the semiconductor layer 9 are formed adjacent to a supporting part 11 comprising the SOI substrate 3, which supporting part 11 is shaped as a frame. The flexible parts 73 are connected to the supporting part 11. In the semiconductor layer 9 of each of the flexible parts 73, a piezoresistor 19 is formed.
In the vicinity of the center of the semiconductor sensor 71, a weight 75 is formed apart from the supporting part 11, which weight 75 comprises the semiconductor layer 9, the insulating layer 7, and the second semiconductor layer 5. The semiconductor layer 9 of the weight 75 is linked to the semiconductor layer 9 of the flexible parts 73, and thereby, the weight 75 is supported by the flexible parts 73.
On the surface 3a of the SOI substrate 3, an insulating film 21 is formed. In FIGS. 10A and 10B, the piezoresistors 19 are shown for the sake of convenience. On the insulating film 21, plural metal wiring patterns 23 and plural pad electrodes 25 are formed. The metal wiring patterns 23 are electrically connected to the corresponding piezoresistors 19 via through holes formed in the insulating film 21.
On the insulating film 21 including a region where the metal wiring patterns 23 are to be formed, a protection film 27 is formed. In the protection film 27 on the pad electrodes 25, an opening is formed. In FIGS. 10A and 10B, the protection film 27 is not shown.
A glass substrate 29 is bonded onto the supporting part 11 on the other side 3b of the SOI substrate 3 by an anodic bonding. An edge surface of the weight 75 is apart from the glass substrate 29.
FIGS. 11A through 11F are cross-sectional views illustrating the semiconductor sensor taken along the line A-A′ shown in FIG. 10B. A brief description is given of a manufacturing method of a conventional semiconductor sensor with reference to FIGS. 10A through 11F.
(1) Referring to FIG. 11A, a thermal oxide film 69 is formed on the other side 3b of the SOI substrate 3 comprising the second semiconductor layer 5, the insulating layer 7 and the semiconductor layer 9. Then, the piezoresistor 19 is formed in the vicinity of the surface of the semiconductor layer 9 of the surface 3a of the semiconductor sensor 3. The insulating film 21 is formed on the surface 3a of the semiconductor layer 9. In a certain region of the insulating film 21, a through hole is formed. Next, on the insulating film 21 including the region where the through hole is formed, the metal wiring patterns 23 and the pad electrodes 25 are formed (shown in FIGS. 10A through 10C). Thereafter, the protection film 27 is formed on the surface of the insulating film 21. In the protection film 27 on the pad electrodes 25, an opening (not shown) is formed.
(2) According to a photoengraving method or an etching method, a region of the thermal oxide film 69 where the flexible parts 73 and the weight 75 are to be formed is selectively removed except for at least a region where the supporting part 11 is to be formed (shown in FIG. 11B).
(3) According to the photoengraving method, on the other side 3b of the SOI substrate 3, a resist pattern 77 is formed having an opening in a region where the flexible parts 73 are to be formed. The resist pattern 77 covers the region where the supporting part 11 and the weight 75 are to be formed. According to the etching method, the resist pattern 77 is masked so as to selectively remove a region of the second semiconductor layer 5 where the flexible parts 73 are to be formed (shown in FIG. 11C).
(4) After the resist pattern 77 is removed, the region of the second semiconductor layer 5 where the weight 75 is to be formed is etched from the other side 3b of the SOI substrate 3. Thus, the thickness is reduced of the region of the second semiconductor layer 5 where the weight 75 is to be formed so as to form the weight 75. A resist pattern (not shown) is formed on the other side 3b of the SOI substrate 3 for delimiting a region where the flexible parts 73 and the weight 75 are to be formed. The insulating layer 7, the semiconductor layer 9, the insulating film 21, and the protection film 27 are removed according to the etching method except for the region where the flexible parts 73 and the weight 75 are to be formed, which region is surrounded by the region where the supporting part 11 is to be formed. Thus, the flexible parts 73 and the weight 75 are formed (shown in FIGS. 10A through 10D and 11D).
(5) The thermal oxide film 69 is removed. At this time, the region of the insulating layer 7 where the flexible parts 73 are to be formed is removed simultaneously so as to form flexible parts 13 comprising the semiconductor layer 9 (shown in FIG. 11E).
(6) By the anodic bonding, a regulating board 29 is bonded onto a surface of the second semiconductor layer 5 of the other side 3b of the SOI substrate 3 including the region where the supporting part 11 is to be formed (shown in FIG. 11F).
(7) Thereafter, the semiconductor sensor 1 is cut out of the SOI substrate 3. Accordingly, the manufacturing steps of the semiconductor sensor 1 are completed (shown in FIGS. 10A through 10D).
Here, the semiconductor sensor 71 is formed by utilizing the SOI substrate 3 as the semiconductor substrate, but the semiconductor sensor may be formed by utilizing a semiconductor substrate comprising only a normal semiconductor.
In a conventional method of manufacturing the semiconductor sensor, a weight and flexible parts are formed from a semiconductor substrate. Hence, there is a problem in that the flexible part is fractured by inertia of the weight according to mechanical oscillation after the weight and the flexible parts are formed or water pressure caused by a washing operation.

Semiconductor sensor having weight of material different than that of weight arranging part


An information processing apparatus includes: a data processing unit which performs copy processing for recording recorded data of a first medium in a second medium, wherein the data processing unit receives playlist sequence information which represents the use sequence of a playlist applied to reproduction processing of copy data recorded in the second medium, from a management server and performs processing for generating an attribute file which stores the playlist sequence information and recording the generated attribute file in the second medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. In particular, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program which copy data recorded in a medium (information recording medium), such as a disc, under a predetermined control.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, as the information recording mediums for various contents, such as movies and music, DVDs (Digital Versatile Disc), BD (Blu-ray Disc (Registered Trademark)), or the like are widely used. With regard to most contents, such as music data or image data recorded in the information recording medium, a creator, a seller, or the like holds copyright or distribution rights. Thus, even a user who purchases a disc has predetermined restriction on the use of contents recorded in the disc. For example, the user is not permitted to copy contents recorded in the disc to another medium, such as a disc, without permission.
As the copy management configuration of contents stored in a medium, a copy permission processing configuration is used under the condition that copy permission information is received from a management server. Specifically, processing is performed in the following sequence.
A user loads a medium, such as a disc with recorded contents, into a PC, a recording/reproducing apparatus, or the like, and a user apparatus is connected to a management server through a network. Thereafter, the user apparatus transmits predefined information, such as a disc identifier (ID), to the server. After confirming the integrity of the received information, the server transmits copy permission information to the user apparatus. The user apparatus can start copy processing under the condition that the copy permission information is received from the server.
Such a copy management configuration is called managed copy (MC) and the details thereof are described in, for example, JP-A-2008-98765.
As the standard relating to content copyright protection techniques, an AACS (Advanced Access Content System) standard is used. Most of contents recorded in a disc, such as a BD, based on the AACS standard are recorded as encrypted contents. As a representative encryption technique based on the AACS standard, a configuration is known in which contents are segmented in terms of units, and different encryption keys are applied to the units. This encryption configuration allows control for the use of contents in terms of units, realizing strict content usage control in various ways.
A unit as the content segmentation unit is called a CPS unit, and an encryption key which is applied to encryption processing or decryption processing of each CPS unit is called a CPS unit key, a unit key, or a title key.
With regard to the AACS standard, reference is made to http://www.aacsla.com/home, http://www.aacsla.com/specifications, or the like.
In the user apparatus, in copying contents stored in a medium, such as a BD (Blu-ray Disc (Registered Trademark)) which stores movies or the like subjected to copyright management to another medium, for example, a hard disc, a flash memory, or another disc, when processing based on the above-described managed copy (MC), copy permission information is received from the management server, and copying is carried out.
However, in the copy control processing, such as the managed copy (MC), which is used at present, only a configuration is realized in which the management server provides copy permission or inhibition information to the user apparatus for contents as the user desires.

Information processing apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, and program


A mechanism is described for protecting a server against invalid usage of proxy objects after malfunction of a server and also for transparently re-creating proxy objects in a client of a client-server distributed processing system. A proxy class is used that has additional attributes indicating the name of the target object in the server, an indication as to whether the name is presently valid and an alternate pointer to the target object. A proxy register object in the client maintains pointers to all the proxy objects which point to objects in the server. On malfunction of the server, and consequent invalidity of the proxy objects, the proxy register object causes all proxy objects to be refreshed.

Overview of Object-Oriented Programming
Prior to the development of object-oriented programming, a form of programming was developed known as structured programming, which is still used extensively. In this technique, various functions are first defined, and the program then consists of calling such defined functions at appropriate times to effect the overall objective of the application program. Such functions define the methods that are used to operate on the data, but do not define the data itself. Structured programming provided the opportunity of a modularised approach--a significant improvement over "spaghetti code" which was difficult to debug and maintain. Nevertheless, several drawbacks to structured programming remain, such as the "semantic gap" between the concepts and entities in the world being modelled by the program and the concepts in the programming language, the textual nature of the program code, and limitations on reusability of code modules.
Subsequently, a new programming paradigm was developed, referred to as object-oriented programming. In this technique, instead of defining functions, "classes" are defined. The class definitions define the methods which any instance of that class can perform and the attributes (or data) that an instance of that class contains. An object is a member of a class and can actually perform the methods, which are defined in the class definition. An object has values associated with each of the attributes defined by the class. An object has zero or more attributes and it has zero or more methods that can be performed on the object.
The interface to the object is the way in which the attributes can be accessed through the methods. All objects derived from that class share the interface of that class. The implementation of an object is hidden from the application which calls the object. As long as the interface to the object does not change, the implementation may be completely altered without affecting the application.
As a simplistic example of this technique of describing the external "appearance" of an object without the necessity of describing what it "looks like" or "does" inside, and in order to illustrate the significant benefits of such object-oriented programming, one might imagine, by analogy, a common household toaster, which could be modeled by the object-oriented approach. The external "interface" would consist of the knob, which essentially represents a parameter for adjusting the desired lightness or darkness of the toast, the slot into which the bread is inserted, and a lever for effecting the insertion and activating the toaster. The important concept is that the end-user of such an appliance does not need to know the "internals" of the toaster in order to use it, e.g. whether heat is provided by electricity, or by chemical or other means. All the user would have to do is interface properly with these externals.
The beauty of this evolution in programming is that, continuing with the analogy, the designer of the object, which might be a module of programming code modelling a toaster, may focus on improving the internals of the toaster, making it more efficient, for example, without affecting the user's ability to use the object, in as much as the internals are transparent to the user. Thus, more abstractly, object-oriented technology may be seen essentially as providing the advantage of separation of the interface of an object from its implementation. In a software context, the internals of the object may thereby be rewritten and improved without the necessity of rewriting the entire application program, as long as the external "knobs" etc, and their expected behaviour have not changed.
For further general background regarding object technology to facilitate a better understanding of the invention, reference should be made to "Object Oriented Technology--A Manager's Guide", by David A. Taylor, copyright 1990, Servio Corporation.
With the development of object-oriented programming, several "object models" were further refined and developed by various organisations and software companies. These specified the manner in which one was to define objects and their external interfaces, such various object models providing characteristics of encapsulation and inheritance among others. At an appropriately high level, these various object models are very similar. Examples are the System Object Model (SOM), Common Lisp Object System (CLOS), Smalltalk, and C++. In essence, these various object models are simply a body of rules answering the question of what an object is, each offering slightly different answers when examined at lower levels. For example, various object models differ in their language syntax, and in how encapsulation and inheritance work.
As a direct result of these differences, one problem presented by the availability of different object-oriented languages and object models was that interoperability between object programs written in a mixture of such languages could not be achieved. This problem adversely impacted one of the major promises of object technology, namely reusability of code. In an effort to address this problem plaguing the industry, a Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) was arrived at by committee, which included a standardized Interface Definition Language (IDL). There was in essence an agreement in the industry as to how interfaces of an object would be specified, i.e. a standard for defining object interfaces so that objects defined by one vendor could be utilized by another. See "The Common Object Request Broker:Architecture and Specification", OMG Document Number 91.12.1 Revision 1.1.
Object Request Broker (ORB)
The Object Request Broker (ORB) described in the CORBA architecture is analogous to the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) familiar to those working in the UNIX operating system environments (UNIX is a trademark exclusively licensed through X/Open Co. Ltd).
FIG. 1 shows a client/server environment including an ORB. The ORB is split into two parts, part 50 of which executes in each of the clients using the ORB and part 52 of which executes in each of the servers supporting the ORB. Like an RPC, an ORB is a mechanism which allows client applications 48 working in one address space 53 to communicate with objects 51 in another address space 54. Objects 51 located in the other address space 54, that is not the same address space 53 as that in which the client application 48 is executing, are referred to as "remote" objects. Objects located in the same address space 53 as the client application 48 are referred to as "local" objects. An ORB 50 intercepts a call from a client application 48 in one address space 53, encapsulates it into a network protocol, decodes the call for the target object 51 in another address space 54 and returns the results back to the calling client application 48. This allows a client application 48 working in one address space (local) to communicate with objects 51 in another address space (remote). ORB is an improvement upon the RPC as it is designed to provide the higher level of flexibility and power offered by object oriented programming.
"Object models" have been developed by various organisations and software companies. The object models specify the manner in which objects and their external interfaces are to be defined. One of these object models is System Object Model (SOM) from IBM Corporation. In SOM, all applications using objects run in a single address space in which the objects are also located. A development within SOM is a framework of object classes called Distributed System Object Model (DSOM). In DSOM, applications (running in clients) in one address space may access objects in another address space (such as an address space belonging to a server). These address spaces may be in the same or different systems. In fact, the systems need not be running the same platform. For example, a client application running in an address space on an OS/2 system may access an object that is located in an address space on an AIX/6000 system, or vice versa. Both SOM and DSOM are described in "SOMobjects: A Practical Introduction to SOM and DSOM", published by IBM Corporation, Copyright 1994, Order no. GG24-4357-00.
The aforementioned System Object Model (SOM) is one object model which conforms to CORBA and IDL. Conformance means that SOM objects follow CORBA semantics, and SOM objects are defined in IDL syntax.
The DSOM framework provides object implementations that insulate the client programmer from having to have knowledge of the location or platform type where a target object will be instantiated. The communications facilities used for this inter-process communication are completely hidden from the programmer.
Client-Server Architecture
In a client-server architecture, application programs are divided into distinct tasks that execute as individual components. Each of the components are assigned roles as clients or as servers. A single component may perform the role of a server for some purposes and of a client for other purposes. Each of the components operates independently and assumes certain responsibilities. Those components which are assigned the role of client request services from a server by making method calls on an object in a server process. Those components which are assigned the role of server provide services by receiving these method calls, invoking them on the appropriate object and returning the results to the client. The clients and servers exchange messages using a predefined protocol. Servers can service many clients and clients can draw upon the services of many servers.
Proxy Objects
A proxy object is an object that is a local representative for a remote target object. A proxy object inherits the target object's interface, so that it responds to the same methods. Methods invoked on the proxy object are not executed locally, but are forwarded to the real target object for execution. A program running in a client always has a local proxy object, in the client, for each remote object, in a server, on which it operates. The proxy object contains, within it, a pointer to the memory location in the server where the target object is located. It does not contain the name of the target object. The proxy object is created by the DSOM run-time environment whenever a request is made to a remote server to invoke a method on a remote object.
DSOM Environment
Client processes make method calls on objects in a server process. These method calls may, for example, get the value associated with an attribute (read) or set the value associated with an attribute (write). The server process will receive these method calls, invoke them on the appropriate object and return the results to the client. FIG. 2 provides a very high-level view of some of the components of a DSOM environment. The client address space 53 includes an object called the DSOM Object Manager 303. This object assists the client application (48 in FIG. 1) with locating servers 54 by returning a pointer to a proxy object 305 (described below) for the server object 313. The client then invokes methods on the server object 313 (via its proxy object 305) in order to create instances of objects 51 of predefined classes on that server 54, to gain access to objects 51 that already exist on that server or to destroy objects 51 on that server 54 when they are no longer needed.
The client application (48 in FIG. 1) makes calls to the server proxy object 305 to find out the location of an object 51 on which it wishes to make a method call. The server proxy object 305 calls the server object 313 to determine the memory location of the target object 51 in the server. The server object obtains this information from a name server 317, whose function is to provide a memory location given an object name. Its function will be familiar to those working in the UNIX operating system environment. The server object 313 provides the memory location of the target object 51 to the server proxy object 305. A proxy object 49 for the target object 51 is then created in the client address space 53. The local client application can then make method calls on the local proxy object 49 as if it were the remote target object 51. DSOM will pass the method call to the server address space 54 where the method call is invoked on the target object 51 and the results will be returned to the local client application.
On any system that will act as a server, or as a client, or as both, a separate daemon process 341 called "somdd" must be active. This process is instrumental in initializing server processes, providing services that must be available at all times and in creating a binding between the client process and the server process. The term "daemon process" and its function will be familiar to those working in the UNIX operating system environment. It plays no further part in the present invention.
There are two additional facilities that are required in a DSOM environment. These are the Interface Repository 321 and the Implementation Repository 331.
The Interface Repository 321 is a database for storing object interface definitions. Class interface definitions (a method's parameters and return value) are registered with the Interface Repository. The Interface Repository plays no part in the present invention. Server implementations and the classes they support are registered in the Implementation Repository. That is, servers and classes and the attributes necessary for DSOM to find and activate an object server (such as the server program name, hostname of the machine where the server is located, and so on) are registered in the Implementation Repository.
Persistence
A persistent object is one in which the attributes associated with the object are stored in non-volatile storage and are available even after the process that created it has terminated. An object which is not persistent does not have the attributes associated with the object stored in non-volatile storage and the attributes of the object are not available after the process that created it has terminated. If a server crashes, then non-persistent objects will not be restored, while persistent objects will be restored, if the server is a recoverable server so that it restarts after a malfunction occurs.
Server malfunction
Referring to FIG. 2, if the server 54 malfunctions, the reference in the proxy object 49 located in the client address space 53 to a target object 51 located in the server address space 54 will no longer be valid. The server 54 will reload the object into memory so as to make it available to the client application (48 in FIG. 1). The server 54 may reload the object 51 into memory at a different location to where it was prior to the malfunction. If the object 51 had been loaded specifically at the request of the client application (48 in FIG. 1), that is, it is not a persistent object, then the server 54 may not even reload the object 51 into memory at all. In both of these situations, the reference contained within the proxy object 49 to the target object 51 in the server 54 will no longer be valid. Use of the proxy object 49 will result in an error condition indicating that the object referenced is a bad object or similar. In some Object Request Broker implementations this can have serious effects, such as corruption of memory in the server or even malfunction of the server requiring a further restart of the server.
When the client application 48 receives an error condition indicating that one of more of its proxy objects 49 have become invalid, it will need to perform one of the following steps:
A. If the target object 51 was not persistent, the client application 48 will need to create a new target object 51 in the server 54. The client application 48 calls a server proxy object 305 to request that a new target object 51 be created giving the class of object to be created. The server proxy object 305 calls the server object 313 to determine the memory location of the target object 51 in the server 54. The server object 313 provides the memory location of the target object 51 to the server proxy object 305. A proxy object 49 for the target object 51 is then created in the client address space 53. The proxy object 49 includes a reference to the location in memory in the server 54 where the target object 51 can be found. PA0 B. If the target object was persistent, then the client application 48 will need to create a new proxy object 49 including a reference to the location in memory in the server 54 where the target object 51 can be found. PA0 1. It needs to destroy the old proxy objects 49 which now contain references to memory locations in the server 54 which were valid references to target objects 51 before the server 54 malfunctioned, but which are now invalid. PA0 2. It needs to create new proxy objects 49 corresponding to each of the old proxy objects. These new proxy objects 49 correspond to the old ones, except that the references they contain to target objects 51 in the server 54 are valid references, obtained since the server 54 restarted after the malfunction. PA0 3. All of the pointers in the client application to the proxy objects 49 located in the client address space 53, which were destroyed at step 1, now need to be updated to point to the new corresponding proxy objects 49 created at step 2. This step requires knowledge specific to the application that needs to have its pointers updated.
If a server 54 has malfunctioned, then it is likely that all references from proxy objects 49 located in the client address space 53 to all of the target objects 51 located in that server 54 will need to be refreshed by carrying out the steps listed above. This is a non-trivial exercise for a typical client application 48. The client application 48 has pointers to proxy objects 49 located at various places throughout its address space and needs to perform the following tasks:
If a server malfunctions, the references in the proxy object located in the client to the target objects located in the server will no longer be valid. The Object Request Broker will generate a TIMEOUT error when the client tries to use the invalid reference, since the remote server no longer exists.
Preventing Invalid Proxy Object Usage
Every server implemented using the DSOM framework has a server object, to which all incoming messages are directed. This object dispatches the messages to their true destination, which will be another object in the same DSOM server. A method of preventing invalid proxy object usage is for the DSOM server to do some basic checking of a timestamp associated with the proxy object and with a timestamp associated with the DSOM server itself and return an error condition if the timestamp associated with the DSOM server is later than that associated with the proxy object. Similar checks may be performed in systems utilising other Object Request Brokers.
These checks detect that an error has occurred and that the reference contained within a proxy object is invalid, but they provide no way in which the error can be corrected. The references may be corrected using application specific knowledge and code to correct the references in the proxy objects located in the client applications. "Object replacement using dynamic proxy updates", S Menon, R J LeBlanc Jr, Dist. Syst. Engng 1 (1994) pp.271-279, discloses an object replacement scheme in which, on receiving an error indicating that a proxy object reference to a target object is invalid, the proxy object requests an updated reference from a Name Server. Low level events are used to detect errors and update proxy objects. The object replacement scheme is specifically for use with the Clouds distributed operating system. The scheme described does not work with other operating systems or with Object Request Brokers in general.

Recoverable proxy object in an object oriented environment

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for applying MALDI matrix substances to a surface, especially a histologic thin tissue section, for spatially-resolved mass spectrometric measurements of substance distributions in or on the surface uses vibration to nebulize a solution of the matrix substance without the assistance of a gas and deposits the nebulized droplets, preferably cyclically, on the surface.

The invention relates to the application of matrix substances to surfaces for spatially resolved mass spectrometric measurement of substance distributions in or on these surfaces, especially in histologic thin tissue sections, with ionization by matrix-assisted laser desorption.
The invention provides a method of nebulizing a solution of the matrix substance by vibration without the assistance of gas, and depositing the nebulized droplets, preferably cyclically, on the surface being analyzed.
The state of a tissue section in respect of pathologic change, infection, metabolic anomalies, or stress caused by medication, may be visible in the form of changes to the substance composition compared to the normal state of this tissue. The tissue state can thus be identified from concentration patterns of substances. If the concentrations are sufficiently high, then these concentration patterns can be detected mass spectrometrically. The substances here can be peptides or proteins which are under, or over, expressed and hence form an unusual pattern, but they can also represent posttranslational modifications of proteins, their breakdown products (metabolites), or collections of other substances in the tissue.
Mass spectrometry with ionization of the samples by matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization (MALDI) has been used successfully for several years for the determination of molecular weights, and for identification and structural characterization of the molecules of substances, particularly of proteins and peptides. In such a case, the protein is usually dissolved and mixed with a solution of a matrix substance such as sinapic acid before being applied to the sample support. The solvent then vaporizes and the matrix substance crystallizes; the protein also crystallizes within the matrix crystals in the form of individual molecules which are widely spaced. If the sample obtained in this way is bombarded with short pulses of laser light with sufficient energy, the matrix substance absorbs energy and explosively vaporizes, the proteins being entrained into the surrounding vacuum of the mass spectrometer by the vapor cloud and ionized by protonation. There are several dozen matrix substances which are suitable in principle; half a dozen different matrix substances have become widely used. Different matrix substances have proved to be optimal for different analytical tasks.
The mass spectrometer separates the ions according to their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z, also termed here the "charge-related mass") and measures them as a mass spectrum. The mass spectrum can be used to determine their charge-related mass m/z and hence their physical mass m. Since ionization by matrix-assisted laser desorption provides essentially only singly charged ions, we will refer in the following, for the sake of simplification, only to the "mass determination" and not to the determination of the charge-related mass and, correspondingly, simply to the "mass" m of the ions rather than their m/z ratio.
The mass spectrometric analyses can be carried out on individually obtained, homogeneous biological samples such as tissue homogenates, lyzed bacteria and biological fluids (urine, blood serum, lymph, spinal fluid, tears, sputum), the samples generally being subjected to sufficient fractionation beforehand by chromatographic or electrophoretic techniques.
This particularly frees the samples from interfering impurities such as certain buffers, salts or detergents. This removal of interfering impurities of widely varying types is particularly important since they can reduce the ion yield of the MALDI ionization for the analyte substances. The effect of the impurities is not completely understood: it is possible, for example, to observe that simply diluting of the sample, i.e. diluting the impurities as well as the analyte substance in relation to the matrix substance, often brings about a significant improvement of the mass spectrum with respect to the detectability of the analyte substances. The ratio of analyte to impurity remained constant here, indicating that the effect of the impurities is of a higher order than simply linear, and also that there are saturation effects or other suppressive effects for the ionization of the analyte substances. Yet the simple explanation that impurities successfully compete with the analyte substances for the proton sources appears to be incorrect. The presence of detergents, in particular, seems to impede ionization in a general way, without noticeable proportions of ions of these detergents being formed.
The analysis of biological samples thus usually involves very time-consuming sample preparation, particularly if, at the same time, the information concerning the distribution of a protein in different regions of a tissue is to be obtained by measuring individual samples. A method such as "laser capture microdissection" may achieve this but the above-mentioned complex preparation is still necessary, and there is also the difficulty of obtaining sufficient material for this type of analysis.
Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) makes it unnecessary to go to these lengths. With this method, a thin tissue section having a thickness of between 10 and 20 micrometers is produced, for example using a cryo-microtome, from a frozen piece of tissue taken from an organ of interest, whether human, animal or plant. The thin section is laid on an electrically conductive sample support, for example a conductively coated glass specimen slide. The thin section melts during this process and spreads out smoothly on the sample support. These methods are familiar to the specialist. A layer of a matrix material from a matrix solution is then applied to the dried thin section using a suitable method, which can also involve a reduction in the interfering influence of impurities. After the matrix layer has dried, the specimen slide is introduced directly into the mass spectrometer. There are two different methods for the subsequent mass spectrometric scan: the raster scan method and stigmatic imaging of the ions of a small region.
The raster scan method produces a one- or two-dimensional intensity profile for individual proteins by scanning a thin tissue section with well-focused laser beam pulses in a MALDI mass spectrometer, the proteins being identifiable in the mass spectra obtained for each raster point (U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,300; Caprioli). Each spot is therefore irradiated at least once with a fine-focused pulse of laser light with a diameter of less than 50 micrometers and provides a mass spectrum which can cover a broad range of molecular weights, for example 1 to 30 kilodaltons. Using suitable software, it is then possible to define an ion mass which represents one peptide or one protein, or a narrow mass range around this mass, in the spectra, and to graphically represent its intensity distribution over the surface of the thin tissue section. Using this method it has been possible to correlate the distribution of neuro-peptides in the brain of a rat with specific morphological peculiarities, for example, or to portray the distribution of amyloid beta peptides in the brains of Alzheimer animal models. It is possible to represent spatially precisely defined sections of the brain with "Alzheimer plaques" (Stoeckli M., Staab D., Staufenbiel M., Wiederhold K. H., Signor L., Anal Biochem. 2002, 311, 33-39: Molecular imaging of amyloid beta peptides in mouse brain sections using mass spectrometry).
Stigmatic imaging irradiates a defined area of up to 200 by 200 micrometers with the laser pulse. The ions formed over the area are imaged ion-optically spot by spot onto a spatially resolving detector. It has so far been possible to use this method to scan distribution images of these ion masses by careful selection of individual ion masses (S. L. Luxembourg et al., Anal. Chem. 2003; 75, 1333-41); it is to be expected, however, that very rapid cameras will enable complete mass spectra to be scanned for every spot on the area.
In both cases, raster scan and stigmatic imaging, it is necessary, as described above, to coat the surface of the specimen with a matrix material which absorbs laser energy and ionizes analyte molecules. It is not easy to apply the matrix material in this way because (a) a lateral smearing of the analyte substances must be avoided, (b) the analyte molecules must preferably be extracted from the specimen and embedded into the crystals of the matrix material, and (c) a favorable ratio of analyte molecules to impurities must be achieved. The matrix material here is always applied in dissolved form and crystallizes during a drying process. The solvents are usually mixtures of water and organic solvents, for example acetonitrile. Pure water generally cannot dissolve the matrix substances.
Accordingly, the solvent has to extract analyte molecules from the thin section and transport them vertically into the supernatant solution without distributing them laterally in the process. The organic fractions of the solvent play a particularly important role here, even though many analyte molecules can be dissolved in water. The solvent must first penetrate into the thin layer. The solution on the surface then slowly begins to dry, and consequently the matrix materials crystallize out. The drying process causes the solvents to be drawn out of the thin layer again, a process which probably involves capillary forces and, primarily, osmosis. Analyte molecules are also transported into the drying supernatant solution. It is favorable for the MALDI process if the analyte molecules to be ionized are embedded into the crystals of the matrix material; at the least, the analyte molecules must be in close contact with the matrix materials, for example by being deposited on the grain boundaries of the crystals.
The matrix materials can, for example, be applied by pneumatically spraying a matrix solution in the form of a fine spray droplets onto the thin section as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,272 (Biemann et al.). As described above, the solution must stay on the thin section for a certain length of time before the matrix material crystallizes out in order that the solvent can penetrate into the thin section specimen and the analyte molecules, i.e. mainly the proteins and peptides, can be extracted from the thin section and hence have the chance of being embedded into the crystals. Pneumatic spraying, however, has the disadvantage that it is not possible to prevent the gas stream from macroscopically moving the spray droplets, which have very low viscosity, over the thin section. This reduces the lateral accuracy of the mass spectrometric analysis through lateral smearing.
Pneumatic spraying can also be used for other types of surface whose substance distributions are to be measured. It has been used in this way for thin-layer chromatography (DE 199 37 438 C2; Maier-Posner and Franzen; corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,306 B1).
The development of pneumatic spraying for thin section specimens has shown that it is favorable to only spray on a very small amount of matrix solution at a time and to repeat this spraying very frequently. Large quantities of individual spray droplets are applied in each round of spraying but not so many that the spray droplets on the surface can merge to form a film of liquid. Between the individual spraying rounds, the sprayed-on droplets should be able to slowly dry, in around 30 seconds. Thus, for example, the spray is applied for several seconds, followed by a drying period of approx. 30 seconds. A carefully metered gas stream is used for the drying. The spraying processes here typically have to be repeated between a hundred and two hundred times in order to obtain mass spectra which can be readily analyzed. If there are too few spraying cycles, the analyte signals in the mass spectra are noticeably weaker or not present at all.
This method can, of course, be automated, but it is usually carried out manually, generally with so-called airbrush pistols, because of a lack of commercially available instruments. This requires a lot of patience and skill because it takes hours. Even if the user constructs an automatic device himself, the reproducibility is not satisfactory. The gas stream used with pneumatic spraying transports the droplets over macroscopic distances, i.e. up to several millimeters. If the spraying is too "wet", the droplets merge to form a liquid film in which the gas stream causes the formation of an outward radial flow which delocalizes the analyte molecules. The other extreme is spraying which is too "dry", where the solvent has already completely vaporized in the flight phase and the matrix impinges on the thin section as a dry crystal shower. In this case, no analyte molecules can be embedded into the matrix. It is very hard to find a happy medium between these two extremes. The two-dimensional spreading of the droplets which are blown onto the surface limits the lateral resolution to around 200 micrometers. The gas stream used for the pneumatic spraying serves to dry the sprayed droplets initially, the organic solvent being the first to escape from the droplets. A larger proportion of water remains, but this is not so good for extracting the proteins from the surface of the thin section. It is therefore necessary to use a large proportion of organic solvent and a low concentration of the matrix material, but this lengthens the process.
The disadvantages of pneumatic spraying have led to the development of another method which does not have this disadvantage of spray droplets in the gas stream: the application of individual droplets by so-called nanospotters. Nanospotting can be done with either piezoelectric or solenoid spotters. Droplets with typical volumes of between 100 picoliters and 10 nanoliters can be shot onto the thin section without contact between nanospotter and section. It has been found that droplets between 10 and 30 micrometers in diameter are most suitable. If the droplets are much smaller, they dry too quickly for the analyte molecules to be efficiently extracted from the tissue. Here too, the liquid must be allowed to act on the thin section for around 30 seconds before the droplets dry, causing the matrix materials to crystallize out completely.
The positioning accuracy of the nanospotter makes it possible to apply the droplets with a lateral repeat precision of the spotter position of a few micrometers, although, depending on the immediate surroundings of the thin section, the droplets are laterally deflected by several micrometers in a statistically distributed direction. It is possible to spot the droplets precisely one on top of the other, but their position does not necessarily correspond to the selected grid. There is a commercial nanospotter on the market for which a method has been developed for applying the droplets in a very precise positioning grid with a separation of 150 to 200 micrometers in each direction. A sufficiently large separation is selected so that the droplets do not run into each other. The droplet size of around 20 micrometers diameter (around ten picograms) results in application spots around 100 micrometers in diameter. Each individual spot is applied again at intervals of around 30 seconds; this application is repeated a few hundred times for each spot. This method of applying the matrix substance also takes several hours.
The mass spectra obtained with this method of nanospotting are high quality but the method is not cheap because a very expensive instrument is used. The method produces much better mass spectra of the analyte substances than is possible with the pneumatic spray method, and a slightly better lateral resolution of around 100 to 150 micrometers, depending on the grid of the spotting. The mass spectrometric measurement requires image recognition to position each individual spot with matrix crystals, however. Since the MALDI process of ionizing analyte molecules can be readily carried out with laser focus points of around 30 micrometers in diameter, this method of nanospotting is not optimally adapted to the achievable lateral resolution of MALDI mass spectrometry.

Sample preparation for mass spectrometric imaging


Method and apparatus for performing remote impact testing for generator stator wedges and ripple springs. An improved low profile carriage is utilized for correlating wedge displacement data with the force required to displace the wedge. A calibrated test stand, in which exemplary wedges are placed under a known loading via a hydraulic load cell, provides means for generating calibration curve sets. From the graphed forcedisplacement curves generated from wedges placed under a known loading, force and displacement data generated during actual stator testing can be analyzed to measure the tightness or looseness of stator wedges, coils and ripple springs. In the preferred embodiment of the low profile carriage of the present invention, a capacitive sensor is used to directly measure the displacement or vibration of stator wedges as a result of being struck by an impact hammer with a known force.

During scheduled and some forced outages of electric utility steam driven electric generators, one of the major concerns is the condition of the stator coils. Many tests are performed to quantify stator integrity. One of the most time consuming of these tests has been the test of stator wedge tightness since it has required removal of the rotor to gain access to the stator bore area, specifically the tooth tip area where the wedges are located. Removal of the rotor requires two to three days alone. The accepted industry method of testing stator wedge tightness is for a technician to "tap" the wedge, feel the resulting vibration, and listen to the sound. A loose wedge will vibrate more than a tight one, and can be felt with the fingers. In addition, a loose wedge will emit a characteristic hollow sound, which the experienced technician quickly learns to recognize as a loose wedge.
It is very important that wedge tightness be carefully ascertained and corrected if deficient because the tightness of the stator wedge is the only structural element that prevents stator coil vibration due to the combined effects of magnetic and mechanical loading. Field experience has shown that failure to hold the stator coil stationary in the stator slot permits ever increasing levels of vibration leading to deterioration and finally failure of the stator mica insulation and, in many instances, grounding or "flashover" of the coils. When this occurs, the owner-operator of the unit is faced with a time-consuming and expensive rewinding process. For these reasons, stator wedge tightness is of interest during routine outages, and not just when the rotor is removed.
One of the difficulties in testing wedge tightness without removal of the rotor is that there is as little as 3.81 cm (1 5 in.) of clearance between the stator bore and the retainer ring through which apparatus may be inserted to inspect the wedges distributed along the length of the stator. Another difficulty is that the wedges are made of non-conductive, non-magnetically permeable material such as, for example, fiberglass coated with Kevlar which is, compared to other materials such as steel, an absorbent of mechanical energy so that the techniques available for measuring tightness are limited. An additional difficulty, especially in the case of an impact tester, is that the stator coils extend radially outward about a horizontal axis such that the effect of gravity on the impactor varies with the angular position of the stator wedge being tested.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,000 discloses a low profile remotely controlled carriage for insertion into the gap between the rotor and stator of an electric generator for performing inspections. The carriage is positioned over a wedge with the aid of a miniaturized television camera. A solenoid when energized strikes the wedge and a microphone records the acoustic response. It has been found, however, that it is desirable to apply a larger and more repeatable impact force to the wedge than can be developed by a solenoid. It has also been found that it is difficult to assess with a computer the acoustic response recorded by the microphone.
The inspection apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,000 also includes an Electro-magnetic Core Imperfection Detector (EL-CID) tester which is used to assess the condition of the insulation between stator laminations. Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,563 also discloses an EL-CID tester mounted on a carriage inserted between the rotor and stator of an electric generator for inspecting the insulation between the stator laminations. The carriage in U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,563 is held in place against the stator by permanent magnets embedded in the carriage chassis.
Other attempts have been made to quantify the "tap, listen and feel" process for testing stator wedge tightness. A mechanical impedance probe has been developed which is based upon the recognition that during a resonance sweep, a tight wedge will resonate (shift phase) at a slightly higher frequency than a loose one. This method does not discriminate between difference degrees of looseness nor does the apparatus have sufficient power to resonate wedges of the size and style used with the larger steam driven units. In addition, the unit is too large to fit into the rotor stator air gap.
Another type of apparatus for measuring wedge tightness uses a force measurement system. The theory of operation is that when an impact force is applied to a stator wedge, the hammer will maintain contact with a loose wedge for a longer interval before recoiling than with the same wedge in a tight condition. This has been confirmed, however, the sensitivity of the test does not permit clear discrimination between the tight and loose conditions. Furthermore, a version of such a device small enough for use in the air gap of the generator has not been developed.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,660 which issued on Oct. 16, 1990 provides an apparatus which can determine wedge tightness without removal of the rotor. What is needed is an improved system which can provide a direct measurement of wedge displacement in conjunction with the force required to cause that displacement.

Apparatus and method for inpact testing for electric generator stator wedge tightness


A screw which can be more quickly screwed into a work piece and has better chip-exhausting effect. The screw has a rod body and higher thread and lower thread formed on the rod body. On a conic section of the screw, a cutting thread with another guide angle larger than the guide angle of the lower thread directly extends from the lower thread. Accordingly, the lower thread of the screw has better cuffing, drilling and chip-exhausting function. Alternatively, the screw can have single thread or double threads with equal height. On a predetermined section of the rod body of the screw, a cutting thread with changed guide angle is directly formed as a part of the thread to achieve better cutting, drilling and chip-exhausting function.

The present invention is related to an improved screw which can be more quickly screwed into a work piece and can more smoothly exhaust the chips of the work piece. The screw has a rod body and higher thread and lower thread formed on the rod body. Alternatively, the screw can have single thread or double threads with equal height. On a predetermined section of the rod body of the screw, a cutting thread with changed guide angle is directly formed as a part of the thread to achieve better cutting, drilling and chip-exhausting function.
Different types of screws have different structures according to the qualities of the work pieces in which the screws are screwed. However, with respect to all types of screws, it is required that the screws can be quickly firmly screwed into the work pieces with less strength. The screwing speed and the torque necessary for screwing the screw into the work piece are directly affected by whether the drilling chips of the work piece can be smoothly exhausted. In the case that the thread of the screw is designed with such a chip-exhausting structure as to smoothly exhaust the chips, the screw can be quickly screwed into the work piece with less torque. Reversely, the screw will encounter a greater resistance. As a result, the screw can be hardly quickly screwed into the work piece and the necessary torque is greater.


In an apparatus for manufacturing a micro-channel and a method for manufacturing a micro-channel, the apparatus includes a base member and a holding chamber. The base member includes a first base member having a concave portion and a convex portion, and a second base member covering the concave portion to form a channel. The holding chamber holds the base member thereinside, to form a space uniformly applying a pressure on a surface of the base member. Accordingly, the pressure is uniformly applied on an entire surface of the base member and thus the micro-channel may be manufactured.

1. Field of Disclosure
The present disclosure of invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a micro-channel and a method for manufacturing a micro-channel using the apparatus. More particularly, the present disclosure of invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing the micro-channel via uniformly pressing base members using the base members having channels and a holding chamber holding the base members, and a method for manufacturing the micro-channel using the apparatus.
2. Description of Related Technology
A micro-channel or a nanochannel is defined as a flow path having a sub-millimeter size or a sub-micro size and used for a micro device and so on.
Recently, as MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) technology is developed and a micro system has more effectiveness in functionality, weight lightening, massive production and so on, a manufacturing of the micro-channel has been more studied to develop more effective device.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional micro-channel.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a first base member 10 and a second base member 20 are combined for the conventional micro-channel. After facing two base members, the base members are clamped mechanically along the edge of the base members or bonded using an adhesive, and then the micro-channel is manufactured.
In the micro-channel manufactured mentioned above, a pressure is not uniformly applied to an entire surface of the base members and thus the micro-channel may be easily leaked. In addition, both base members of the micro-channel are mechanically clamped or bonded using the adhesive, and thus the base members may be hardly detached from each other and the micro-channel may not be easily repaired or maintained.

Apparatus for manufacturing of micro-channel and method for manufacturing of micro-channel using the same

KOREA INSTITUTE OF MACHINERY & MATERIALS


An in-wheel motor for a vehicle includes: a stator with a connector attaching the stator to the vehicle, the connector including a shaft, an end plate of a larger diameter than the shaft, and a coolant passage through the end plate, the stator further including a hollow stator body with cylindrical outer surface and mounted to the connector. Cooling channels for circulating liquid coolant extend along the hollow stator body and are in fluid connection with the coolant supply duct, the cooling channels having an inlet for supply of liquid coolant to the plurality of channels and an outlet for discharging liquid coolant from the plurality of channels; wherein, at a side opposite from the connector member, the hollow stator body has an open end with a diameter larger than the diameter of the shaft. Also disclosed is a cooling jacket for such an in-wheel motor.

US 201 3/01 261 43 A1 describes a cooling jacket for cooling an electric motor, wherein the cooling jacket has one or more continuous S-shaped pipes, covering the electric motor, for conducting working fluid, wherein each continuous S-shaped pipe at least has: a forwarding portion and a reversed portion, respectively extending along two circumferential directions which are parallel but opposite to each other; and a turning portion connected between the forwarding portion and the reversed portion. When the cooling jacket is used to cool the electric motor, the temperature of working fluid within the S-shaped pipes typically increases from one end of the motor to another end of the motor.
From WO 2013/025096 an electric vehicle with an in-wheel electric motor is known, in which the rotor of the electric motor is coupled to a rim of the wheel carrying one or more tyres. The stator is mounted on the frame of the vehicle via a wheel suspension system. The known in-wheel motor is part of a direct drive wheel in which the electromagnets of the motor directly drive the rim and the tyre without any intermediate gears. In this manner, weight and space are saved and the number of components in the vehicle's drive assembly is minimized.
The torque that is generated by the in-wheel motor depends on the flux-carrying surface between the rotor and the stator and is a quadratic function of the rotor radius. The rotor magnets are placed as far outwardly as possible around the stator, to obtain a largest possible rotor radius and the motor design is optimised to minimize the gap between the rotor and the stator for delivering a maximum power and torque to the tyre. The gap width between rotor and stator is on the other hand designed to be large enough to absorb mechanical impacts on the wheel during driving conditions.
The windings of the stator are powered by control electronics that are situated within the stator, which control electronics convert electrical energy from a power supply system of the vehicle, e.g. a battery pack and/or an electric generator, to an AC current that is suitable for use by the electric motor. Such control electronics typically comprise power control electronics, e.g. IGBT current modules and a current regulator, such as described in EP 1 252 034. By using the control electronics to control the current and/or voltage supplied to the windings of the stator, the magnetic field vector of the flux generated by the stator is controlled and the electric motor is operated at the desired torque and/or speed of rotation. By integrating the control electronics within the stator, the length of bus bars which run from the control electronics to the electromagnets can remain short, which is highly desirable in view of minimizing losses of the high electrical currents and voltages generally required for operating such an electric motor, which may for instance amount to 300 A at 700V or more.
In order to cool the electric motor and/or the control electronics, the known in-wheel motor is provided with a cooling system having a meandering cooling channel that is situated close to an outer surface of the stator and the control electronics, through which liquid coolant can flow into and out of the stator. The cooling duct is arranged such that, after the cooling fluid has passed along the control electronics for cooling these, the cooling fluid meanders back to an end point of the cooling duct at a vehicle side of the cooling system during which the fluid can absorb heat energy from the electromagnets.
The in-wheel motor can be embodied as a substantially self-contained module, without any moving parts of the vehicle attached to and/or extending into the rotor. The interior space defined by the rotor is preferably substantially closed off to prevent ingress of foreign particles, such as dust and/or wear particles released by a brake system of the vehicle and/or by the road, into said interior.
The in-wheel motor may be mounted on the vehicle in a variety of positions by connecting the vehicle side of the in-wheel motor to the vehicle frame.
It is often desirable to have direct access to the control electronics, for instance for inspection or repair of the control electronics. For the known in-wheel motor, when it is connected to a vehicle frame, this requires at least partial disassembly of the motor during which a connection for supplying coolant to the cooling channels of the cooling system has to be temporarily disconnected. This typically includes removing coolant from the channels before disassembly and refilling the channels with coolant upon reassembly, bringing with it the risk of coolant spilling, e.g. on the control electronics.
The present invention aims to provide an in-wheel motor which can be more easily maintained and/or inspected.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an in-wheel motor in which cooling of the electromagnets of the stator is improved..

In-wheel motor provided with cooling channels, and a cooling jacket