A semiconductor device may include a semiconductor substrate, an insulator film covering a part of an upper surface of the substrate, and a gate electrode opposing the upper surface via the insulator film. In the semiconductor substrate, a drift layer extending through a body layer to the upper surface opposes the gate electrode via the insulator film. The insulator film extends from the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate to an upper surface of the gate electrode by passing between the gate electrode and an upper electrode, and defines an opening at the upper surface of the gate electrode. A side surface of the opening of the insulator film is entirely located outside a volume space consisting of all straight lines that passes through the opposing surface of the drift layer at angle of 45 degrees to the opposing surface.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H10-27900 discloses a planar-gate-type semiconductor device. This semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, an insulator film covering a part of an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate, a gate electrode provided in the insulator film and opposing the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate via the insulator film, an upper electrode being in contact with another part of the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a lower electrode being in contact with a lower surface of the semiconductor substrate.
The semiconductor substrate includes an n-type first semiconductor region (a source region or an emitter region) being in contact with the upper electrode at the upper surface, a p-type body layer (also termed a base layer) located around the first semiconductor region and opposing the gate electrode at the upper surface via the insulator film, and an n-type drift layer located between the body layer and the lower electrode. The drift layer partly extends to the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate through the body layer (this part of the drift layer will hereinafter be termed a body-passing part) such that the drift layer includes an opposing surface that opposes the gate electrode via the insulator film at the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate.

Field-effect transistor with a heat absorber in contact with a surface of the gate electrode on its back side


A roller assembly of an in-line roller skate fastened to the sole of a boot for gliding on a surface and formed of a roller frame with wheels, a boot frame fastened pivotally with the roller frame, a braking mechanism fixed on the boot frame, and a biasing mechanism mounted between the roller frame and the boot frame.

The present invention relates generally to an in-line roller skate, and more particularly to the in-line roller skate provided with a roller assembly capable of braking effectively.
Generally speaking, the braking action of the conventional in-line roller skate takes two forms, one of which is a projection located at the toe end of the roller skate, as shown in FIG. 1. The roller skate in motion is slowed down or stopped by pressing the projection against a surface on which the roller skate glides. The effect of this braking method is limited in view of the fact that the braking action is brought to pass by the trailing roller skate, as shown in FIG. 1, and that the braking action is seriously compromised by the skater""s posture which is prone to inhibit the skater from exerting a greater force on the trailing roller skate. Now referring to FIG. 2, another form of braking a roller skate in motion is a brake pad located at the heel end of the roller skate. The brake pad is pressed against a surface on which the roller skate glides. The braking action of the brake pad is also limited in view of the fact that the body weight of a skater is mostly supported by the trailing roller skate at the time when the braking action is effected by the brake pad of the leading roller skate, as illustrated by FIG. 2. In addition, the problem is further compounded by the fact that the toe end of the leading roller skate must be lifted, thereby inhibiting the leg muscles of the skater from exerting a greater force on the brake pad. In the event that the skater makes an attempt to exert a greater pressure on the brake pad of the leading roller skate, the skater is prone to lose a balance.
With a view to overcoming the drawbacks of the conventional in-line roller skates described above, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,231 discloses a roller skate comprising a boot which is provided in the bottom thereof with side plates for pivoting the boot to a roller frame. The roller skate further comprises a lever mechanism located between the boot and the roller and is controlled by the lever mechanism. As the heel is pressed, the braking action is effected by each brake pad to slow down or stop the motion of the roller due to the lever principle. Such a roller skate braking structure of the prior art as described above is still defective in design in that it is not compatible with the roller skates currently available in the market place, and that it is formed of many component parts which result in a substantial increase in weight of the roller skate. In addition, this prior art braking structure tends to bring the rollers in motion to an abrupt halt, thereby resulting in a reaction force which makes the roller skater vulnerable to fall.
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide an in-line roller skate with a roller assembly capable of a braking action without regard to the posture of a roller skater.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an in-line roller skate with a roller assembly capable of slowing down or stopping the motion of rollers thereof in a progressive manner.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide an in-line roller skate with a roller assembly compatible with the ordinary roller skates available in the market place.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide an in-line roller skate with a roller assembly having a braking mechanism which is removably mounted therein.
In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the foregoing objectives of the present invention are attained by a roller assembly which is fastened with the sole of a boot for gliding on a surface and is formed of a roller frame, a boot frame fastened pivotally with the roller frame, a braking mechanism mounted on the boot frame, a biasing mechanism mounted between the roller frame and the boot frame, and a switch mounted between the roller frame and the boot frame. The boot frame is fastened pivotally with the roller frame by at least one fulcrum on which one end of the boot frame turns toward a first direction, thereby resulting in other end of the boot frame to displace in a second direction opposite to the first direction. The roller frame is provided with a plurality of rollers fastened therewith such that at least one roller is opposite to the braking mechanism. This roller is kept apart from the braking mechanism by an interval at the time when the boot frame is located at a first position. This roller is acted on by the braking mechanism at the time when the boot frame is located at a second position. The biasing mechanism is used to bring about a biasing force to keep the boot frame at the first position at such time when the boot frame is not exerted on by an external force. When one end of the boot frame is exerted on by an external force opposite to and greater than the biasing force, the boot frame is moved to the second position. When the switch is turned xe2x80x9cOFFxe2x80x9d, the boot frame is always kept at the first position, regardless of absence or presence of the external force. On the other hand, when the switch is xe2x80x9cONxe2x80x9d, the boot frame is capable of moving between the first position and the second position.


An electronic device digitally combines a single voice input with each of a series of noise samples. Each noise sample is taken from a different audio environment (e.g., street noise, babble, interior car noise). The voice input/noise sample combinations are used to train a voice recognition model database without the user having to repeat the voice input in each of the different environments. In one variation, the electronic device transmits the user's voice input to a server that maintains and trains the voice recognition model database.

Although speech recognition has been around for decades, the quality of speech recognition software and hardware has only recently reached a high enough level to appeal to a large number of consumers. One area in which speech recognition has become very popular in recent years is the smartphone and tablet computer industry. Using a speech recognition-enabled device, a consumer can perform such tasks as making phone calls, writing emails, and navigating with GPS using only voice commands.
Speech recognition in such devices is far from perfect, however. A speech recognition engine typically relies on a phoneme or command database to be able to recognize voice utterances. A user may, however, need to "train" the phoneme or command database to recognize his or her speech characteristics—accent, frequently mispronounced words and syllables, tonal characteristics, cadence, etc. Even after training, however, the phoneme or command database may not be accurate in all audio environments. For example, the presence of background noise can decrease speech recognition accuracy.

Method and apparatus for training a voice recognition model database


A controller for use with a multi-segment electroluminescent display 1. Control signals C1–CN control a plurality of half H-bridges H and Hc, the terminals of the half H-bridges being connected respectively to ground and to a high voltage DC supply 9. One of said half H-bridges provides a common output Vcommon and the remaining H-bridges provide drive voltages V1–VN for the segments of the display. The H bridges are driven by an oscillator 14 so that an AC voltage is selectively applied to the segments of the display. A power supply 24 provides a predetermined amount of power per unit area of the display. This is controlled by an area summation engine 22 having a segment data input, a segment counter and a memory containing area data corresponding to the segment(s) of the display. Based on the input from the segment data input, the area(s) of the segment(s) that are to be lit are obtained from the memory and summed to provide the total area to be lit. This is fed to the power supply 24, which then feeds the correct amount of power to display 1 via the half H-bridges.

Electroluminescent displays have selectively illuminable regions for displaying information. Such displays have the advantage over competing technologies that they can be large, flexible and are relatively inexpensive.
Although electroluminescent lamps were known in the 1950's, these had a short lifetime and it was not until the 1980's that a flexible electroluminescent device was developed. However, this was used as an LCD backlight and only recently have practical electroluminescent displays become available.
Electroluminescent displays generally comprise a layer of phosphor material, such as a doped zinc sulphide powder, between two electrodes. It is usual for at least one electrode to be composed of a transparent material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), provided on a transparent substrate, such as a polyester or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. The display may be formed by depositing electrode layers and phosphor layers onto the substrate, for example by screen printing, in which case opaque electrodes may be formed from conductive, for example silver-loaded, inks. Examples of electroluminescent devices are described in WO 00/72638 and WO 99/55121.
An electroluminescent display of the general type described above is illuminated by applying an alternating voltage of an appropriate frequency between the electrodes of the lamp to excite the phosphor. Commonly, the phosphors used in electroluminescent displays require a voltage of a few hundred volts. Typically, such electroluminescent displays may have a capacitance in the range 100 pF to 1 μF.
Since only a small current is required, this comparatively high drive voltage can easily be produced from a low voltage DC supply by a circuit such as the well known "flyback converter".
This comprises an inductor and an oscillating switch arranged in series. In parallel with the oscillating switch, a diode and a capacitor are arranged in series. The switch oscillates between an open state and a closed state. In the closed state, a current flows from the DC supply through the inductor and the switch. When the switch is opened, the current path is interrupted, but the magnetic field associated with the inductor forces the current to keep flowing. The inductor therefore forces the current to flow through the diode to charge the capacitor. The diode prevents the capacitor discharging while the switch is closed. The capacitor can therefore be charged to a voltage that is higher than the DC supply voltage, and current at this voltage can be drawn from the capacitor.
In order to supply an alternating current to a load from a flyback converter, an H-bridge may be provided in parallel with the capacitor. In general, an H-bridge comprises two parallel limbs, each limb having a first switch in series with a second switch. On each limb between the first and second switches, there is a node, and the load is connected between the respective nodes of the limbs. Current can flow through the load in one direction via the first switch of one limb and the second switch of the other limb and in the other direction via the other two switches. The switches of the H-bridge are operated so that current flows through the load first in one direction and then in the other.
Where multiple electro-luminescent segments are provided to form a display, the segments are controlled by having a single high voltage rail of constant voltage that is selectively switched across the segments that are required to light. This is achieved by using a half H-bridge transistor configuration to drive a common, usually front, electrode and a number of half H-bridges to drive each of the multiple segments. The common electrode will be switched at a frequency in the region of a few tens of hertz to a few kilohertz. Segments that are not required to light will be driven with the same signal as the common electrode such that they see no net voltage. Segments required to light will be driven at the same frequency but in anti-phase with the common electrode such that they see an alternating voltage of peak-to-peak value that is twice that of the high voltage rail. This enables simple control of which segments light by control of the phase of their driving signals.
The brightness of all of the segments can be controlled by varying the voltage of the high voltage rail and/or by varying the switching frequency. The brightness of the segments increases with frequency. The constant voltage on the high voltage rail is usually achieved by means of a feedback loop that monitors the voltage and adjusts input power to eliminate variations. This arrangement is effective, but it does have some significant drawbacks. In particular, in some circumstances the display may be required to change rapidly leading to a sudden change in the power required to supply it. For example, the display may be required to change from having most segments lit to having few or none lit. This may lead to problems in regulating the voltage accurately. In addition, because it relies on maintaining a constant voltage on the supply rail regardless of load, the known arrangement tends to be rather inefficient in its use of power and this may be critical in the case of battery-operated devices.


A video clip may be automatically generated from a gameplay recording based on an interest metric. The interest metric may be determined from a variety of sources, such as developer provided signals, platform-based signals, and reception signal. A machine learning technique may be applied to each of the signals individually and/or in aggregate (e.g., the interest metric) to ascertain a weighting scheme, for example, for each individual signal or the interest metric to improve the selection of portions of video from a gameplay recording.

Some video games or third party applications allow a user to capture instances of a user's gameplay. The captured gameplay may be provided to the user in the form of a screen shot or a video. A user may subsequently edit a video, for example to eliminate uninteresting portions of the video or for size, and/or add effects to the video (e.g., overlay music, fade in/out, etc.).

Automatic generation of a game replay video


The present invention provides a method of modifying the surface of a polymeric substrate, e.g., to improve the wettability of the polymer film surface and/or affix silicon-containing structures to the substrate surface, comprising exposing the substrate to a flame. The flame is supported by a fuel and oxidizer mixture that includes at least one silicon-containing compound that functions as a fuel and is in an effective amount for modifying the surface of the polymeric substrate. Also disclosed are substrates with surfaces that are modified by exposing the substrate to a flame that is supported by the process of the invention. Large increases in the ASTM wetting test, e.g., greater than 13 mJ/m.sup.2 over that reported with conventional flame-treating processes, have been observed in polymeric substrates treated according to this invention.

Flame treating is used to improve the wetting and adhesion properties of polymer film surfaces in general and of polyolefin film surfaces in particular. The most wettable surface-modified polymer films usually have optimal adhesion properties in a variety of practical applications. These enhanced wetting properties result in improved coatability and adhesion of materials such as pressure-sensitive adhesives, primers and low-adhesion release coatings. Enhanced wetting properties are particularly useful in coating water-borne solutions at all film speeds and in coating solvent-borne materials at high coating speeds.
Flame treaters ordinarily use premixed flames, i.e., the fuel and oxidizer are thoroughly mixed prior to combustion and the rate of combustion is controlled by the rate of chemical reaction that occurs in the flame. In a premixed flame, the luminous region is that portion of the flame where the temperature rise is the greatest and where much of the reaction and heat release occur. During a flame-treating process, one side of a polymer film is passed in close proximity to a flame while the other side of the polymer surface generally passes over a cooled support, e.g., a cooled drum, to minimize heat distortion.
Flames are commonly described in terms of two characteristics: by the flame power and by the molar ratio of oxidizer to fuel. The flame power is the product of the volume of fuel burned per unit time and the heat content of the fuel. Typical units for the flame power are W or Btu/hr. In flame treating, the flame power can be normalized to account for the dimensions of the burner, leading to units such as W/cm.sup.2 or Btu/hr-in.sup.2. The exact ratio of oxidizer to fuel needed for complete combustion is known as the stoichiometric ratio. For example, the exact amount of dry air necessary for the complete combustion of methane is 9.55 volumes per volume of methane; so the stoichiometric ratio for an air:methane flame is 9.55:1. The equivalence ratio is defined as the stoichiometric oxidizer:fuel ratio divided by the actual oxidizer:fuel ratio. For fuel-lean, or oxidizing, flames, there is more than the stoichiometric amount of oxidizer and so the equivalence ratio is less than 1:1. For oxidizer:fuel mixtures at the stoichiometric ratio, the equivalence ratio is equal to 1:1. For fuel-rich systems, the equivalence ratio is greater than 1:1.
Virtually all industrial flame treaters use a premixed laminar (as opposed to turbulent) flame with air as the oxidizer and a gaseous hydrocarbon as a fuel. Typical hydrocarbon fuels include hydrogen, natural gas, methane, ethane, propane, butane, ethylene, liquefied petroleum gas, acetylene, or blends thereof, and city gas, which is often composed of a mixture of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane, and nitrogen. Halogen and halogen-containing compounds have also been disclosed as oxidizer:fuel mixture additives to increase the adhesivity of polyolefin films to subsequent coatings.
Recently, hydrocarbon flames enriched with up to 5 percent additional oxygen by volume, up to 5 percent steam by weight and a few parts per million of alkali or alkaline earth metals have demonstrated increases in wetting values on polymer films (American Standard Test Methods (ASTM) standard wetting test) of up to 2 mJ/m.sup.2 relative to a non-enriched flame process. Surface modification of a polymer surface has also been reported by flame treatment where a flammable third component that is neither a fuel nor an oxidizer is sprayed into the flame. The listed third components are polymers such as cellulose, protein, silicones or polyethers, and inorganic materials such as carbides, nitrides, metal salts or metal oxides.
Silicon oxide deposits onto polymeric substrates by corona-discharge methods have also been reported. ASTM wetting test values of equal to or greater than 58 mJ/m.sup.2 on biaxially oriented polypropylene have been disclosed. However, the corona process is limited by its tendency to perforate thin or porous films, to "strike through" or inadvertently treat the backside of polymer films and to create toxic or corrosive gases. In addition, the silicon oxide-deposition corona process cannot operate in an open atmosphere of air and requires controlled amounts of an oxygen-containing gas such as nitrogen oxide, carbon oxide, water or alcohol to controllably decompose a silicon-containing gas.
Because of the benefit that the increased wettability of polymer surfaces has on the coating industry, there is an ongoing need for processes that improve the wettability of polymer films.

Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company


Examples provide a method of virtualizing a hardware accelerator in a virtualized computing system. The virtualized computing system includes a hypervisor supporting execution of a plurality of virtual machines (VMs). The method includes: receiving a plurality of sub-programs at a compiler in the hypervisor from a plurality of compilers in the respective plurality of VMs, each of the sub-programs including a hardware-description language (HDL) description; combining, at the compiler in the hypervisor, the plurality of sub-programs into a monolithic program; generating, by the compiler in the hypervisor, a circuit implementation for the monolithic program, the circuit implementation including a plurality of sub-circuits for the respective plurality of sub-programs; and loading, by the compiler in the hypervisor, the circuit implementation to a programmable device of the hardware accelerator.

Computer virtualization is a technique that involves encapsulating a physical computing machine platform into virtual machine(s) executing under control of virtualization software on a hardware computing platform or "host." A virtual machine (VM) provides virtual hardware abstractions for processor, memory, storage, and the like to a guest operating system. The virtualization software, also referred to as a "hypervisor," incudes one or more virtual machine monitors (VMMs) to provide execution environment(s) for the virtual machine(s). As physical hosts have grown larger, with greater processor core counts and terabyte memory sizes, virtualization has become key to the economic utilization of available hardware.
Programmable devices, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), are increasingly common in modern applications as hardware accelerators in a computing system. As such, cloud provides that operate virtualized computing systems in a data center now support on-demand FPGA acceleration. Applications in data centers run on virtual infrastructure, where consolidation, multitenancy, and workload migration enable economies of scale that are fundamental to the provider's business. However, a general strategy for virtualizing programmable devices on hardware accelerators has yet to emerge.

Compiler-driver programmable device virtualization in a computing system


A method for controlling a hybrid vehicle having an engine includes automatically stopping the engine in response to vehicle power demand dropping below currently available electrical power, and automatically starting the engine when vehicle power demand is at a first offset below currently available electrical power to reduce a time delay for starting the engine and increase a currently available vehicle power to move the vehicle up a grade in response to receiving a signal indicating a positive grade. A hybrid vehicle includes an engine, an electric machine, and a controller. The controller is configured to control starting/stopping of the engine in response to a first driver demand when receiving a signal indicative of a road grade angle exceeding a corresponding threshold and in response to a second driver demand otherwise.

Hybrid vehicles may have first and second prime movers, such as an internal combustion engine, and an electric machine. The vehicle may operate using either prime mover, or using both simultaneously. The vehicle may operate electrically depending on the amount of available electrical power and the vehicle loads, including driver demand and other vehicle accessory loads. When the battery state of charge reaches a lower limit, the engine may be started to provide additional power to the vehicle. The engine may also be started when the power or torque requirement of the vehicle will exceed that available from the electric machine.
When an additional external load on the vehicle is present, such as the vehicle traveling over a grade, the added load on the vehicle caused may exceed the electrical capability of the electric machine, and require the engine to be operating. A delay associated with starting or restarting the engine, or pulling up the engine, during vehicle operation may cause driveline disturbances, or may not meet vehicle drivability expectations.

Hybrid vehicle control for traveling over a grade


The bypass clutch in the fluid-containing housing of the hydrokinetic torque converter in the power train of a motor vehicle is provided with a first friction surface carried by a radially extending or conical section of the housing, and with a complementary friction surface carried by an axially movable piston or by an intermediate clutch plate of the bypass clutch. At least one of the friction surfaces is provided with an array of pockets and/or channels for a fluid (such as oil) which withdraws friction heat developing when the bypass clutch is partially engaged so that the friction surfaces contact but slip relative to each other. The depth and/or the width of the channels is at least substantially constant, and such channels can include bends between straight channel sections. The inlets of the channels can be located at the radially inner or radially outer marginal portion and their outlets can be located at the radially outer or inner marginal portion of the respective friction surface.

The invention relates to improvements in torque transmitting systems in general, and more particularly to improvements in torque transmitting systems which can be utilized in the power trains of motor vehicles, for example, to transmit torque between a prime mover (such as an internal combustion engine or a hybrid engine) and a manually operable or automated gearbox. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in torque transmitting systems of the type known as hydrokinetic torque converters with bypass or lockup clutches.
As a rule, a hydrokinetic torque converter comprises a housing or casing which is connected to and can be rotated by the output element of a prime mover (such as the camshaft or crankshaft of a combustion engine), a pump which is mounted in and can be of one piece with the housing, a turbine which is confined in and coaxial with the housing and can rotate with as well as relative to the housing so that its hub can transmit torque to a rotary input element (e.g., a shaft) of the gearbox, an optional stator in the housing between the pump and the turbine, and a bypass or lockup clutch which can operate with as well as without slip so as to transmit torque between the housing and the turbine. The bypass clutch can comprise a piston which is movable axially of the housing in order to disengage, partially engage (with slip) or fully engage (without slip) the clutch so that the latter can transmit a selected torque between a portion of the housing and the hub of the turbine. The connection between the piston of the bypass clutch and the turbine can comprise one or more shock absorbing dampers, and the piston is movable axially by a pressurized fluid (e.g., oil) which is confined in the housing. To this end, the piston divides an internal chamber of the housing into two compartments or plenum chambers. If the fluid pressure in one of the compartments is raised above that in the other compartment, the piston can be moved axially of the housing from a position corresponding to a fully engaged condition of the bypass clutch, through a plurality of intermediate positions in which the clutch operates with slip, to a position corresponding to a fully disengaged condition of the clutch. Inversely, if the fluid pressure in the other compartment rises above that in the one compartment, the piston is moved axially of the housing in the opposite direction, i.e., to change the condition of the bypass clutch from the fully disengaged condition, through a desired number of partially engaged conditions (operation with a selected slip) and to the fully engaged condition.
The piston of the bypass clutch can be provided with a friction lining having an exposed friction surface which can contact, with or without slip (or move to a position entirely out of contact with), a complementary friction surface, e.g., directly on a section of the housing of the torque converter or on a friction lining which is affixed to the housing. It is also possible to employ a single friction lining which is bonded or otherwise affixed to the housing and has a friction surface arranged to contact a complementary friction surface on the piston of the bypass clutch.
It is also known to provide the friction surface of a friction lining, the friction surface of the piston of the bypass clutch, and/or the friction surface of the housing of the hydrokinetic torque converter with one or more channels for one or more fluid streams serving to withdraw heat from the bypass clutch and, if necessary, from certain other constituents of the torque converter and/or its bypass clutch (e.g., from the aforementioned damper or dampers). If the channel or channels is or are provided in a generally washer-like friction lining, each such channel can have an inlet in the radially inner or in the radially outer marginal portion and an outlet in the radially outer or in the radially inner marginal portion of such friction lining. Reference may be had to published German patent application Serial No. 1 950 0814 and to the corresponding United States patent(s) and/or patent application(s). The disclosure of each United States patent and of each allowed United States patent application mentioned in this specification is incorporated herein by reference.
Presently known torque converters of the above outlined character exhibit the drawback that the flow of fluid coolant along the friction surface(s) of the bypass clutch is not entirely satisfactory (predictable), for example, when the clutch operates with slip. Thus, if the fluid conveying channels or grooves extend in directions other than exactly or substantially radially of the piston and the bypass clutch operates with a certain amount of slip between the abutting friction surfaces (one of which is caused to rotate with the housing of the torque converter and the other of which is provided (directly or indirectly) on the piston), the normally viscous fluid flowing in the channels of one friction surface is maintained in frictional engagement with the other (complementary) friction surface to thus produce a retarding force (drag) which is proportional to the slip of the bypass clutch. This can exert an adverse influence upon the distribution of pressures at the bypass clutch, e.g., it can entail an undesired engagement of the bypass clutch with resulting considerable discomfort to the occupant or occupants of the motor vehicle in which the torque converter is put to use.
Another drawback of presently known hydrokinetic torque converters employing fluid-cooled bypass or lockup clutches is that the characteristics of the channels or grooves in the friction surface(s) are not selected with a view to prevent the development of eddy currents which affect the quality of the heat-withdrawing (cooling) action of the fluid medium in such channels or grooves.

Hydrokinetic torque convertor with bypass clutch having grooved friction lining


An improved stencil set and method of applying stenciled designs to a surface is provided. A plurality of stencil sheets are provided wherein each stencil sheet has a distinct portion of the design represented by cutout areas in the sheet and remaining portions of the design visibly printed on the sheet. The sheets are used in sequence to apply the design to a surface and, in the preferred embodiment, with each sheet, the portions of the design not being immediately applied to the surface are visible to the user on the stencil sheet itself.

For many years, homeowners and others have decorated their homes by applying stenciled designs to the walls. Usually, such designs are applied around the crown of a room where the walls of the room meet the ceiling. However, stenciled designs can and are applied to other portions of the walls and, indeed, to other surfaces in the home as well.
Stenciled designs typically are applied to a surface using one or more stencils made of paperboard or plastic. These stencils are formed with cutout areas that correspond to various portions of the design to be created. In applying the design, the stencil or stencils usually are taped or otherwise secured to the surface where the stenciled design is to be applied. Paint can then be applied through the cutout areas of the stencil onto the surface. Commonly, the paint is applied through the cutout areas with a brush or a sponge. However, paint is sometimes applied by different means such as, for example, by spraying the paint through the cutout areas or by rolling the paint over the stencil and through the cutout areas. In any event, the paint is applied to the surface through the cutout areas of a stencil, whereupon the stencil is removed leaving the resulting design on the surface.
In some instances, the entire design to be applied is represented by cutout areas in a single stencil. When using these stencils, paint of one color is applied through designated cutout areas corresponding to that color. The stencil is then washed, removed, or cleaned, and reattached to the surface so that paint of another color can be applied through other ones of the cutout areas in the stencil. This process is repeated with the various colors of the design until the completed multi-color design has been applied to the surface through all of the cutout areas in the stencils. As a guide to mixing and matching colors and applying them through the appropriate cutout areas, such stencils are usually provided with a printed facsimile of how the stenciled design should look when applied to the surface. As the design is being applied, constant reference back to the printed facsimile is made in order to gauge and judge the proper color mixes and positions for creating the completed design.
While the foregoing method has been used successfully for many years in applying stenciled designs to surfaces, it nevertheless embodies certain inherent problems and shortcomings. For example, the process of applying a particular color only through certain ones of the cutout areas can be tedious and the user must be careful to apply a particular color through only the proper corresponding cutout areas. In many instances, mistakes can be made in this regard affecting the final appearance of the stenciled design. An additional problem with such stencils resides in the fact that a user must refer constantly to a printed facsimile of the finished design as the design is applied in order to judge the appropriate hues, balances, and mixes of colors. This can make color balancing difficult since the characteristics of an applied color must be visually estimated by reference to a separate printed facsimile. Finally, it is not always a simple matter with such stencils to align the stencil precisely from color application to color application and resulting misalignment can affect the look and quality of the finished design.
Even when multiple stencils are used to apply the design, many of the problems with single stencil applications still exist. While the use of multiple stencils addresses some of the problems of cleaning the stencil between each application, the colors applied with each stencil still must be estimated by visual reference to a printed facsimile of the final design. Alignment of the successive stencils in the set can also be a problem and the appearance of the final design is highly dependent upon the skill of the user in interpreting and matching the colors, hues, intensities and tints as they are displayed on the printed facsimile.
A general consequence of the use of prior art stenciling methods has been that skillful application of stenciled designs comes only after substantial experience in applying the designs. It has been difficult in the past for a novice or unexperienced person to apply the designs with the same quality results as an experienced application. For this reason, some who consider themselves insufficiently skilled have hired professionals at substantial cost to apply their stenciled designs.
Attempts have been made to address some of the problems associated with prior art stenciling methods. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,860 of H. Summer attempts to address the alignment and registration problems associated with multiple stencil sets by providing a holder for each of the sequential stencils in the set. Each stencil is aligned precisely in the holder and the holder can be taped or otherwise secured to the wall so that the elements of the final design are properly aligned. While the H. Summer device indeed helps in aligning various stencils of a stencil set, it nevertheless does not resolve the problems associated with judging the qualities and characteristics of each color from a separate printed facsimile of the final design. Thus, substantial skill and experience is still required to produce a high quality design.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved stenciling method and apparatus that addresses the problems and shortcomings of the prior art.

Stencil set and method of applying stenciled designs


An encoder for generating a position signal in accordance with a position of a conductive slider comprises a non-conductive substrate, a first conductive pattern formed on the substrate, and at least three second conductive patterns formed on the substrate. The second patterns are independent from the first pattern. Each of the second patterns has a lead wire extending to an edge of the substrate. The slider is slidable on the substrate, and produces a conductive state signal when it abuts against the first pattern and produces a non-conductive state signal when it abuts against the second pattern or the substrate. The position signal is generated in accordance with the conductive state signal and the non-conductive state signal. One of the second patterns is surrounded by the first pattern, and the lead wire extending therefrom passes between the other two second patterns and extends to the exterior of the first pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an encoder, and more particularly to an encoder which detects a position signal by sliding a slider thereon.
2. Related Background Art
In a camera with a variable focal distance lens, it is necessary to check what focal distance the lens is set to. To this end, a flexible printed circuit board which mounts an encoder having a signal pattern incorporated therein is provided around a cylinder of a lens bodytube, and a slider sliding along a surface of a substrate is used to detect the focal distance.
The encoder used in the prior art has the signal pattern formed by a copper deposition on a surface of a polyester film substrate, and the surface is plated with gold.
A protective pattern (hereinafter called an idle pattern) is provided in order to protect a surface of a polyester film substrate having no signal pattern from abrasion by the slider and to avoid an error signal due to abrasion particles. By properly setting an interval between the idle pattern and the signal pattern, the slider does not contact the surface of the polyester film substrate and no abrasion takes place.
However, because of the need for increased lens information in sophisticated camera systems, the signal pattern of the encoder has become complex. As a result, the idle patterns are also complex and the number thereof increases, and an idle pattern which does not face (is not adjacent to) an outer edge of the polyester film substrate (hereinafter referred to as an island idle pattern) has appeared.
The idle pattern does not necessarily need a lead wire to form the copper deposition, but a lead wire is required on the surface of the substrate in a gold electrolytic plating process.

Encoder switch with conductive patterns and leads


In the rolling bearing device with a sensor in this invention, a band-shaped film 111 having insulation property is affixed to an outer circumferential surface of an outer ring 101 so as to extend in the circumferential direction. On the film 111 is affixed a foil 112 composed of identical four portions and having electrical conductivity which are placed at generally equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the outer ring 101. A resistance between a first place and a second place of the foil 112 is measured by a resistance measurement section of a microcomputer. A preload calculation section of the microcomputer, upon reception of an output from the resistance measurement section, calculates a preload of the outer ring 101 based on the measured resistance.

The present invention relates to a rolling bearing device with a sensor and relates to a strain sensor.
As a rolling bearing device with a sensor, there has conventionally been provided a double-row angular contact ball bearing device described in JP 2002-213438 A.
In this double-row angular contact ball bearing device, balls are placed between one of two-row raceway grooves formed in the inner circumferential surface of the outer ring and the raceway groove of the first inner ring, while balls are placed between the other of the two-row raceway grooves of the outer ring and the raceway groove of the second inner ring.
The first inner ring and the second inner ring are spaced from each other in an axial direction of the bearing device. In the outer circumference portion of the outer ring facing the portion between the first inner ring and the second inner ring, a groove having a generally trapezoidal cross section is formed so as to extend in the circumferential direction of the outer ring. A pressure sensor is placed at this groove. The lead wire of the pressure sensor is connected to a sensor output processing unit. The sensor output processing unit receives an output from the pressure sensor and, in a continuing series, measures a preload applied to the outer ring.
Based on an output of the sensor output processing unit, the conventional double-row angular contact ball bearing device described above adjusts the load applied to the outer ring so as to adjust the preload, which is applied to the outer ring to a proper value. The conventional double-row angular contact ball bearing device measures the preload after assembly of bearing component parts, thus having an advantage that there is no need for considering dimensional variation of each bearing component part.
However, the conventional double-row angular contact ball bearing device has a need for taking into consideration errors due to mounting accuracy of the pressure sensor. This poses a problem that adjustment of the instrumentation amplifier or the like is required based on the mounting accuracy of the pressure sensor.
Further, in the conventional double-row angular contact ball bearing device, since the sensor is a pressure sensor having a considerable thickness, it is necessary to deepen the depth of the groove in which the pressure sensor is to be housed. As a result, there is a problem that the cost for the formation of the groove is increased, resulting in a large mounting cost of the pressure sensor.
Moreover, since not only the pressure sensor described above but sensors for measurement of strain are conventionally high in cost for the sensors themselves, there is a problem that sensor-equipped rolling bearing devices with a sensor are high in manufacturing cost.

Rolling bearing device with sensor and strain sensor


An actuating apparatus for opening and closing a cover in or on a vehicle has a blocking device for blocking the cover in a locked position. The blocking device has a transmission mechanism with a rotation part (64.1; 50) mounted rotatably and driveable by an actuator (34), and a blocking bar (62) which is operatively connected to the rotation part. The transmission mechanism converts a rotation movement of the rotation part into an axial movement of the blocking bar. The blocking bar is transferable with the aid of the rotation part from a release position into a blocking position. The transmission mechanism is self-locking so that, at least whenever the blocking bar is in the blocking position, the rotation part is not driveable via an axial movement of the blocking bar, and the rotation part prevents an axial movement of the blocking bar out of the blocking position.

The prior art DE 10 2012 004 071 A1 shows an actuating apparatus for actuator-opening of a cover, in which a plunger is fastened to the cover and engages in a base unit. Reliable sealing of the base unit against environmental influences is difficult here.
DE 10 2018 123 949 A1, published after the priority date of this application to be covered here, relates to an actuating apparatus for the manual opening of a cover, wherein a plunger is mounted rotatably in a base unit and, with an actuating sleeve on the cover, which has a helical groove on its inner wall, forms a manually releasable lock. In contrast thereto, according to the invention described below, the lock is preferably releasable under remote control by an actuator, and therefore the cover opens automatically following actuation of the actuator. A multiplicity of components of the invention covered here coincide with the components which are described in DE 10 2018 123 949 A1. To this extent, these parts of the description from DE 10 2018 123 949 A1 are incorporated by reference into the description of the invention covered here.
The inventors found it disadvantageous that sealing the base part of an actuating apparatus for the actuator-opening of a cover according to the prior art is difficult.
A further disadvantage in the case of the actuating apparatuses known from the prior art is that the actuating apparatuses or manually releasable locks are not designed to be crash-proof. This relates in particular to the actuating apparatus known from DE 10 2018 123 949 A1.

Actuating device for opening and closing a cover in or on a vehicle on demand and cover with such an actuating device


A prosthetic device and a method for making the same includes a mounting plate assembly. The mounting plate assembly includes an inner housing having a first center channel defined along a central axis, an outer housing having a second center channel defined along the central axis, and a fluid regulator arranged between the inner and outer housings, and defined along the central axis. The prosthetic device includes a socket having a cavity and a distal portion whereat the mounting plate assembly is located.

Many types of prosthetic devices are available for amputees. These devices may be constructed for attachment to a mounting system arranged to secure the device to the wearer. Conventional mounting systems may include an open-ended socket for receiving and supporting an amputee's residual limb. In lower leg prostheses, straps and other fasteners are often provided for securing the prosthesis to the residual limb to accommodate walking mobility at least limitedly. The ability to achieve full use of a prosthetic limb is an important factor in both the physical and mental rehabilitation of an amputee.
Properly fitting and securing a prosthetic device to an amputee is often difficult because residual limbs can be various shapes and sizes and their volume may fluctuate. Older residual limbs may have experienced atrophy and are generally more conical in shape, while many newer residual limbs are slightly bulbous or cylindrical in shape. Residual limbs may be characterized by various individual characteristics, including the volume and shape of the limb, scars, skin grafts, bony prominences, edema or soft tissue configurations. Conventional prosthetic device mounting systems do not fit snugly on an amputee and are typically not comfortable to wear.
A proper fit of the prosthetic device on a residual limb is essential to ensure adequate mobility and safety. In walking, compressive loading of the soft residual limb tissue can cause blisters, sores, chafing, and other undesirable skin irritation problems. Conventional mounting systems that attempt to correct these deficiencies by including additional soft padding within the socket are disadvantageous since the extra material can interfere with forming an optimal connection.
One way in which a prosthetic device can be attached to a residual limb is by using suction or vacuum pressure. Such an arrangement often includes using liners worn on the residual limb. These liners can be made from a soft, stretchy material that acts as an interface with the prosthesis. Once the liner is on, the residual limb can then slide into a hard socket made to fit the shape of the residual limb.
When attaching a prosthetic device to a wearer, the socket must be securely fitted to the limb to hold it in place during movement. Maintaining stability for the wearer is a common problem, since many existing anchoring systems use a single attachment point to hold the residual limb in place. This type of arrangement may lead to extraneous pivoting, rotating, and shifting of the residual limb, especially during ambulation for lower body limbs, such as lower leg and knee prosthetics.
It is important to be able to periodically adjust the anchoring system since the mass of the limb may change throughout the day. Residual limbs can change size due to swelling or contracting depending on factors such as how they are used, their frequency of use, and the temperature. Minor protuberances inside the socket can be uncomfortable and cause unbearable pain to an amputee.
Some conventional anchoring systems with generally cylindrical sockets may be secured to a residual limb via a radial pressure fit. This type of system is not ideal since radial pressure imposed on a limb received in a hard socket squeezes it unevenly and adds to the discomfort felt by the amputee. The fit obtained may not be secure since radial pressure can cause the limb to pop out of the socket over a day making the system unreliable for a wearer.
Alternatively, Velcro or Chicago screws have traditionally been used to attach an insert to a socket retainer. This arrangement is functional when using a standard expulsion or vacuum system sealed proximally with a sealing sleeve. Modern sockets with flexible liners may have cutouts over boney prominences or utilize internal socket seals. These newer sockets cannot accommodate a flexible insert in combination with a vacuum or expulsion valve because the vacuum or expulsion system is housed in the outer retainer. This is undesirable because air would enter the system proximally between the inner flexible insert and the rigid retainer. For a vacuum or expulsion system to work, the vacuum or expulsion system in the distal portion of the retainer would have to be connected to the flexible inner insert distally as in the present disclosure.
When a lower limb amputee ambulates using a conventional prosthesis, air inside the socket may cause the prosthesis to slip from the amputee during the swing phase of a normal gait cycle. This causes an accelerated impact of the residual limb at the bottom of the socket when the heel hits the floor. By removing air from the cavity, the prosthesis can be held closer to the residual limb during the swing phase, thus reducing the accelerated impact at heel strike. There are many ways to remove the air, including an expulsion valve. Conventional expulsion valves, however, are installed in or through the walls of the socket, which is not optimal.
There are many types of one-way valves, including spring valves. Spring valves use a spring to urge a stopper to resist air from traveling in one direction while allowing the air to travel in the other direction. The disadvantage of using spring valves is that air must accumulate enough force to overpower the spring and open the valve. The consequence of this is that the spring will close the valve before most air escapes the socket, which is called "cracking pressure." It is not desirable to allow air to come back through the valve as weight is relieved from the prosthesis during the swing phase of ambulation. This cycle is repeated as the amputee walks, thus creating a vacuum. Another downside with a vacuum suspension system is that any significant loss of vacuum may cause separation of the prosthetic socket from the residual limb.
It is advantageous to provide a mounting plate assembly providing superior comfort and stability to an amputee. It is beneficial to provide a mounting plate assembly offering improved reliability by limiting extraneous up and down motion, pivoting, rotation and shifting during use. Further, it is advantageous to provide extra durability to the prosthesis. The present disclosure addresses all of these aforementioned needs.

Mounting plate assembly for prosthetic device

Abstract: The mounting plate assembly further including an inner mounting plate having a first center opening defined along the central axis, the first center opening arranged to receive at least a portion of the inner housing; and an outer mounting plate having a second center opening defined along the central axis, the second center opening arranged to receive at least a portion of the outer housing; wherein the inner and outer mounting plates define a plurality of corresponding holes for receiving a plurality of fasteners for securing to the inner and outer mounting plates.


A customized racquet stringing system for a racquet having a plurality of main and cross string segments. The stringing system includes a stringing machine having a base and a stringing platform, and a control unit. The stringing platform is coupled to the base. The stringing platform includes a turntable and a string tensioning assembly. The string tensioning assembly is configured to receive one or more string tension control signals. The control unit is operably coupled to the string tensioning assembly and is configured to execute a string tensioning program and to provide a plurality of the string tension control signals based off of the string tensioning program to the tensioning assembly. The control unit includes a processor and a memory. The tension control signals correspond to at least three separate string tension values applied to the plurality of main string segments and/or the plurality of cross string segments.

The act of stringing a racquet requires a considerable amount of manual labor. Stringing machines assist in the process by maintaining the racquet in place and providing desired tension in the strings, but a majority of the work involved is performed by a person. More particularly, a person must align the racquet within the stringing machine, and then string each of the cross or main strings individually, followed by weaving each of the cross and main strings to form the resulting string grid.
Those in the racquet stringing business often spend many hours a day standing in front of a stringing machine. Conventional stringing machines include a stringing platform with a turntable positioned on top of a fixed stand. The turntable spins within a plane parallel to the floor. Because of the fixed orientation of the stand and the planar position of the turntable, the person stringing the racquet must adjust his or her posture to conform to the position of the stringing machine. Furthermore, the various steps involved in stringing a racquet require the racquet stringer to assume a variety of stances. In particular, one of the racquet stringer's shoulders is often positioned much higher than the other. Also, the fixed orientation of the stringing machine often induces the racquet stringer to hunch over the turntable. The awkward posture induced by conventional stringing machines often causes injuries and fatigue, which ultimately lead to reduced efficiency in the performance of the racquet stringer.
It would thus be desirable to provide a stringing machine that is ergonomically designed to allow users to work with the stringing machine without having to assume awkward or uncomfortable positions. In doing so, it would also be desirable to provide an ergonomically-designed stringing machine that can automatically adjust its orientation to accommodate individuals of various sizes. It would be further desirable for such an ergonomically-designed stringing machine to be adjustable to accommodate personal preferences.
Racquets are typically strung with a single string tension value for the entire string bed that typically matches the manufacturer's recommended string tension for the racquet. In some instances, racquets may be strung with two tension values, one tension value may be used for stringing the main string segments and a second string tension value may be used for the cross string segments of the racquet string. In other instances, if a player desires a stiffer or softer string bed, the racquet will typically be strung at the single tension value that is either slightly higher or slightly lower than the recommended string tension of the racquet, or at the higher or lower end of the recommended string tension range for a racquet. This approach is generally applied to all racquets including those of different head shapes and for players having different skills.
It would thus be desirable to provide a system and method of stringing a racquet that provides additional flexibility and adaptability to the better match a particular racquet design or player. It would also be desirable to have a racquet stringing machine that could facilitate the customized stringing of a racquet.

Customized racquet stringing system and method


Provided are: a novel bonds useful as a highly-functional material; and a novel production method for a polycrystalline sintered product of a bonds, of which the energy cost is low, which does not require a sintering promoter, which enables the product to be worked into complicated forms and which enables a development to a polynary boride.

A boride, in which, in general, the boron atoms bond firmly to each other, has a high hardness, and its melting point or decomposition temperature is high. Accordingly, heretofore, a boride has been used for a heat-resistant material or an abrasion-resistant material. There are known many borides having electrically-specific characteristics such as semiconductor characteristics, thermal electron emission characteristics, superconductivity characteristics, etc. Lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) has been put into practical use for a hot-cathode material, and magnesium dibromide (MgB2) is specifically noted as a superconductive material.
The electric characteristics of a boride strongly depend on the crystal structure thereof; and a boride having a small boron content exhibits electroconductivity, while a crystal that contains a structure of a boron icosahedron (B12 icosahedral cluster) has semiconductive electric characteristics.
Heretofore, as borides, there are known binary borides composed of two component elements such as the above-mentioned LaB6 and MgB2, and also B4C, BN, etc.; and polynary borides with three component elements. As the borides comprising a B12 icosahedral cluster, many substances have been discovered, for example, M-Al—B (where M means an alkali metal or an alkaline earth element) (for example, see PTL 1), RE1-xB12Si4-y (RE means one or more rare earth elements selected from Y, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu; x and y are each fall within a range of 0≦x≦7 and 0≦y≦2) (for example, see PTL 2), etc.
In addition to application development of such already-existing borides, research and development of a further wide variety of borides to thereby develop highly-functional materials having any other novel function heretofore unknown and capable of being used for various applications has become an important theme.
On the other hand, a boride or a boron-containing carbide is a substance that is difficult to sinter since, in general, the covalent character thereof is strong. At present, as a method for producing a sintered product of a boride such as typically B4C, there is employed a hot isostatic press sintering method (HIP method) or a spark plasma sintering method (SPS method). In any case, the method requires high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, and the polycrystalline products capable of being produced by the sintering method are limited to those having a simple form. In addition, a boride that is a superhard material is difficult to work after production of the polycrystalline products thereof, and the limitation on the form thereof is a significant bar to industrial application of the material.
Apart from the above-mentioned pressure sintering method, a pressureless sintering method using a sintering promoter such as alumina, tungsten carbide or the like has been developed (for example, see NPL 1, 2). However, precipitation of the second phase to be caused by the sintering promoter used in such a sintering method may have some negative influence on the mechanical behavior of borides. In addition, as being carried out at a high temperature around 2000° C., the pressureless sintering method has another problem in that the energy cost thereof is high.

Boride having chemical composition Na—Si—B, and polycrystalline reaction sintered product of boride and process for production thereof

Abstract: Provided are a boride having a composition Na—Si—B, and a polycrystalline reaction-sintered product thereof. A mixed compact of boron and an element, M (M means Si and/or C) is heated along with metal sodium to give a polycrystalline reaction-sintered product.


A display device is disclosed. The display device comprises: a display panel; a light guide plate arranged behind the display panel so as to guide light to the display panel, and having at least one end curved away from the display panel; at least one light source for emitting light toward a surface, on which light is incident, of at least one end of the light guide plate; and at least one reflection part arranged adjacently to at least one light source so as to reflect the light toward the display panel.

A display device displaying an image may display an image using a display panel and be used in various devices such as a television, a computer monitor and a smartphone. However, a general display device may not emit light by itself and thus require a backlight unit including a separate light source, which is disposed behind the display panel.
The backlight unit may be classified into a direct-lit type in which the light source is disposed behind the display panel to directly irradiate light to the display panel and an edge-lit type in which light is irradiated to a side surface of a light guide plate disposed behind the display panel and light incident on the light guide plate is uniformly guided to the display panel through the light guide plate.


Disclosed are an ink composition and a method for forming embossments using the ink composition. Accordingly, a process of removing a clear residue on the printed pattern in the related arts may be eliminated. In particular, the ink composition for improving formation of embossment may include: a silane-modified polyacrylate resin in an amount of about 10 to 40 wt %; a silicone-modified polyacrylate resin in an amount of about 50 to 80 wt %; a silicone oil-type additive in an amount of about 3 to 7 wt %; and a silicone oil compound-type additive in an amount of about 5 to 15 wt %. The ink composition has substantially reduced surface tension to provide excellent water-repellency and oil-repellency. As such, a clear paint may not be adhered to the printed pattern surface of the ink composition, but instead, the clear paint may be adhered to the non-printed surface, thereby forming an embossed pattern.

When a plastic interior part of a vehicle is processed, finishing step may be performed in two ways on a surface thereof. The vehicle plastic interior parts may be processed to form a smooth surface, or otherwise, the vehicle plastic interior parts may be processed to form an embossed surface. For example, the embossed shape may be formed on the surface of an injection-molded body which by corrosion in a mold for plastic injection molding.
Such examples are usually used for parts for vehicles such as a door trim and a crash pad because the embossed shape may be formed in a single mold for embossing injection, which is similar to finishing leather with embossment formed on the surface by using low-cost plastic injection and painting. When the embossing is formed by the above-mentioned method, the embossed shape may not be modified without modification to the mold such as corrosion modification.
In the related arts, a transparent embossing may not be implemented if a transparent material is not injected, and further although the transparent material may be used, transparent embossing may not be formed by itself when a colored paint is added to the material in order to conceal surface defects, for example, when flow marks or weld lines are generated during the injection.
Meanwhile, in the related arts, a method for making a color coating providing a three-dimensional effect and a color print body by the method have been developed. In particular, a clear paint painted on an ink composition may remain as a residue, such that the embossing may be implemented only when a process of removing the corresponding residue is included. The residue may be removed mechanically using a brush and the like and using an adhesive tape or vacuum suction. However, since the removing process is applied over the entire printed parts, a significant amount of laboring hours may be needed, and thus mass production thereof may not be easily obtained.
Thus, there is a need for an ink composition for improving formation of embossment, thereby improving mass production, eliminating the process of removing a residue from the clear paint in the related art. In addition, because the residue may not remain on the printed parts, workability and cost competitiveness may be improved.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Ink composition and method for forming embossed pattern using the same

AKZONOBEL INDUSTRIAL COATINGS KOREA LTD.


The present invention relates to a wood cooking aid which comprises a mixture of fatty acids and rosin acids and/or salts thereof in a ratio which is effective in removing the extractives in pulp production. The invention also relates to a method for preparing a wood cooking aid wherein fatty acids and rosin acids are provided in a mixture in a ration which is effective in removing the extractives in pulp production. If desired salts of said acids are prepared by reacting said fatty acid rosin acid mixture containing the desired fatty acid and rosin acid distribution with water and sodium hydroxide. The wood cooking aid of the invention is used in cooking of hardwood.

The pulp industry especially in Scandinavia uses both softwood and hardwood as a raw material. The most important tree varieties used in pulping are pine, spruce and birch. In the pulping process wood is chipped into small particles which are then cooked in the presence of alkaline liquor, such as sodium sulfide and sodium hydroxide, at a temperature of about 150° C. to 170° C. During cooking the inherent adhesive of wood, lignin, dissolves in the aqueous solution and the fiber material is released and recovered as a raw material for paper.
When softwood is cooked, lignin and other extractives in the wood are released relatively easily. When hardwood is cooked, the extractives are not released as easily as from softwood because of the different chemical structure of softwood and hardwood and, thus, part of the extractives remains in the fibers. The extractives remaining in the fibers cause problems in the production of paper. The extractives cause problems especially when birch is used in the pulping.
During cooking the sodium salts of carboxylic acids, fatty acids and rosin acids wash out the extractives from cellulose. Softwood contains both fatty acids and rosin acids and the extractives are removed easily during cooking. Hardwood like birch, on the other hand, contains only fatty acids and no rosin acids at all. The fatty acids in birch are not able to wash out the extractives from birch during the pulp production. Fatty acids are mainly in an esterified form in the wood, whereas rosin acids exist as free acids. Fatty acid esters are degraded during the cooking process. Free fatty acids form sodium salts which are water soluble and act like detergents. However, in the case of birch the extractives are not washed out in the same way.
The problem with birch cooking can be avoided by using crude tall oil obtained from softwood cooking. The fatty acids and rosin acids of the crude tall oil improve the removal of the extractives from birch since they act as surfactants.
Textbooks in the technical field of the present invention teach that it is usual to add crude tall oil or black liquor soap to birch cooking in order to decrease the amount of extractives in the pulp. This is mentioned e.g. in the textbook of the Finnish Paper Engineers' Association called: Puumassan valmistus II osa 2, page 1341 (Production of pulp II, part 2). The addition of crude tall oil or black liquor soap both improves the separation of soap and the quality of pulp in the cooking of birch.
The prior art methods, however, are not sufficiently effective in removing the extractives and thus some of the extractives remain still in the pulp after cooking. Some of the agents used in the prior art are also very expensive and the use thereof raises cost. Some agents, on the other hand, are difficult to dispose of after use which make them less practical in use. Thus, there is a need for a more efficient way of removing extractives from hardwood which is technically feasible and also cost-effective in use.
It has now been found that certain wood cooking aids provide an effective way to remove extractives during cooking. Effective removal of the extractives ascertains pure pulp which does not cause problems in paper production.

Cooking aid for improving the removal of extractives in pulp production, its production and use


A unit for feeding filters to a filter assembly machine, wherein at least one deflecting device receives a respective succession of filter portions in an axial direction, and feeds the filter portions to the filter assembly machine in a transverse direction crosswise to the filter portions; the deflecting device being defined by a fixed frame supporting an input and an output, and by an extractable box fitted movably to the fixed frame and supporting a first conveying device for conveying the filter portions in the axial direction, a second conveying device for conveying the filter portions in the transverse direction, and a deflecting member for diverting the filter portions to the transverse direction.

In a known unit of the type described above, the sharp change in the feed direction of the filter portions sometimes results in jams, the frequency of which is in direct proportion to the operating capacity of the filter assembly machine connected to the unit. Jams of this sort must obviously be cleared immediately, by not only blocking the filter feed unit, but also, in a relatively short space of time, the filter assembly machine connected to the unit.
On the other hand, known units of the type described are normally so complex in design as to make fast manual intervention by an operator from the outside difficult, so that jamming invariably involves considerable downtime and, very often, stoppage of the relative filter assembly machines.

Unit for feeding filters to a filter assembly machine


A shock absorbing device uses a damper including a cylinder enclosing a viscous fluid; a piston rod; and a piston dividing the interior of the cylinder in two axially separated parts. The piston is connected to the piston rod and has an orifice communicating the two parts. The piston includes an inner member integrally connected with the piston rod, and an outer member disposed about an outer perimeter of the inner member and configured to be axially movable with respect to the inner member. The inner and outer members are configured to define a gap therebetween through which the viscous fluid can flow, and to be biased away from each other by a spring disposed therebetween. The inner and outer members are arranged so that the gap is reduced as the amount that the inner member protrudes into the outer member increases, to thereby define a variable orifice.

The present invention relates to a shock absorbing device for arresting the movement of a moving body and more specifically to shock absorbing device which uses a damper having a cylinder that slidingly receives a piston having an orifice and which is filled with a viscous fluid.
It is known that, in order to prevent the generation of impact noise which tends to be produced when a structure such as a cabinet door, or the like, is closed rapidly, a damper, which reduces the speed of the speed at which the door closes, can be disposed on a door stop of the cabinet.
As a damper for generating such damping force, there is known one that has a cylinder enclosing a viscous fluid, a piston which divides the interior of the cylinder into two axially separated sections and which has an orifice communicating the two sections, and a piston rod connected to the piston. This damper is arranged to generate a damping force (attenuating force) using the resistance produced by the viscous fluid passing through the orifice when the piston moves in the axial direction inside the cylinder together with the piston rod, which is known in Patent Document.
Japanese Patent No. 3465978
The above damper arrangement utilizes the property that the fluid resistance of the viscous fluid is increased progressively as the speed of movement of the piston becomes higher, and when used, for example as a door buffer device, it can be configured such that the resistance is low for gentle door closing operation and high for rapid door closing operation.
However, setting of the damping force is accomplished exclusively by the sizing of the aperture of the orifice provided in the piston, and there is a shortcoming that when the operating force at low speed is set appropriately, the damping force at high speed becomes rather insufficient, and conversely, when the damping force at high speed is set appropriately, the operability at low speed is impeded. Accordingly, it has been difficult to set the dynamic range of the damping force over a wide operating range.
The present invention has been made to obviate the above problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a damper which can set a dynamic range over a wide operating range.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.


A stacked package for electronic elements is provided, a plurality of stud bumps are formed on a substrate by means of a stud bump process to align with a plurality of vias of one provided electronic element. The stud bumps respectively pass through the vias and electrically connect the electronic element. Furthermore, additional electronic elements are stacked on the carrier according to a similar way to form a stacked electronic package.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a package for electronic elements and packaging method more particularly to a stacked package for electronic elements and packaging method thereof.
2. Related Art
A process of packaging electronic elements, also called electronic packaging, provides protection for the electronic element and further electrical connection between the electronic element and other external elements. The packaging process generally is a backend process in the semiconductor manufacturing, and therefore is not considered as important as the front-end process. However, the packaging process determines the size and the cost of the final product, which may also be of importance in the commercial success of the final product.
Conventionally, electronic packages are classified as a single chip package (SCP) type or a multi chip package (MCP) type, according to the amount of integrated chips (IC) mounted in the electronic package. The multi chip package further includes a multi chip module (MCM). MCP type package has become the main stream in the current field of electronic packaging because of several advantages such as a small size, low production costs, a high-density wiring and high performance. Further reducing the manufacturing cost and the size of the package has always been the goal of the research and development made by current package manufacturers.
Usually, Flip-Chip (According to your following description, I think use flip-chip is better than bga) is used as external connection to achieve the electrical connection between the chips in the multi chip package. Such a type of electronic package needs a lot of processing steps such as mask forming, a photolithography process, sputtering, plating, and solder ball forming, which renders the whole process complex and increases the possibility of destabilizing it. The packaging costs are thereby increased. Furthermore, the vias of the chip serve as vertical conductive paths of the chip. A conductive material has to be filled respectively in the vias. The alignment of the conductive material and filling of the conductive material in the vias constitute a difficult operation, which possibly destabilizes the yield and not is workable in mass production.

Stacked package for electronic elements and packaging method thereof

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A process for producing an ink jet head comprises the steps of providing a substrate provided with a liquid discharge energy-generating portion, forming a photosensitive resin layer on the substrate, patterning the photosensitive resin layer into a liquid flow path pattern to form a solid layer for forming a liquid flow path on the substrate, covering the solid layer with a liquid flow path wall construction material composed of a curable resin on the substrate, curing the liquid flow path wall construction material, and removing the solid layer by dissolution to form a liquid flow path, wherein the liquid flow path wall construction material comprises an epoxy resin composition containing an epoxy addition-modified aromatic amine curing agent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for production of an ink jet head for forming ink droplets in an ink jet printing system.
2. Related Background Art
An ink jet head for an ink jet printing system (liquid discharge recording system) generally comprises a fine discharge opening (hereinafter occasionally referred to as an "orifice"), a liquid flow path communicating to the discharge opening, and an energy-generating portion positioned in the liquid flow path.
Such an ink jet head can be produced, for example, through the steps comprising: forming a photosensitive resin layer 2 on a substrate 1 on which a liquid discharge energy-generating portion 3 has been provided (FIG. 1A); patterning, by photolithography, the photosensitive resin layer 2 as a pattern 4 (hereinafter referred to as a "solid layer") for forming a liquid flow path on the substrate (FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C); covering the solid layer on the substrate with a liquid flow path wall construction material 5 composed of a curable resin, and curing this material 5 (FIG. 1D); and removing the aforementioned solid layer by dissolution by use of an organic solvent such as halogen-containing hydrocarbons, ketones, esters, and alcohols, or an aqueous alkali solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide to form a liquid flow path 6 (FIG. 1E).
In recent years, with the demand for higher image quality, a larger number of the liquid flow paths are provided in a high density in the ink head. With the increased liquid flow path density, a liquid chamber for feeding the ink to the liquid flow paths should have a sufficient volume to supply the ink to the liquid flow paths at a high rate. To secure the sufficient volume of the liquid chamber, the aforementioned liquid flow path wall is formed higher. Conventionally, the liquid flow path wall is formed from a photosetting epoxy resin composition because of its high rigidity after curing, and its relatively high adhesiveness. However, for the larger thickness of the liquid flow path wall construction material as mentioned above, the light exposure conditions for the photosetting are severer, and may occasionally cause insufficient cure of the resin owing to insufficiency of light exposure.
Therefore, the inventors of the present invention tried to change the material for the liquid flow path construction from the conventional photosetting type epoxy resin composition to a thermosetting type one. A curing agent for thermosetting of an epoxy resin includes acid anhydride type and amine type of curing agents. On the other hand, the aforementioned solid layer is usually formed from a positive type resist containing naphthoquinone diazide. This type of resist is less heat-resistant, and will be deformed when the epoxy resin for the liquid flow path wall construction is cured with a curing agent such as an acid anhydride or an aromatic amine which requires a higher curing temperature of from 130 to 150.degree. C. Accordingly, as the curing agent for the epoxy resin, a cold cure type of amine curing agent is used which can cause cure at a relatively low temperature. However, the epoxy resin composition cured by cold cure to form the liquid flow path wall has generally a relatively low chemical resistance in comparison with the one formed by hot cure, and tends to swell greatly in the step of removal of the solid layer by a polar solvent (organic solvent) such as ketones, alcohols, and esters as a solid layer-removing liquid. The swelling of the liquid flow path wall construction material lengthens the time for removal of the solid layer, and lowers the productivity of the ink jet head.
Generally, the epoxy resin composition has high elasticity, which causes accumulation of high stress between the liquid flow path wall construction material and the substrate. The swelling of the liquid flow path wall construction material increases further the above stress to cause, in an extreme case, separation of the liquid flow path wall construction material from the substrate. In particular, in ink jet heads having liquid flow paths in a high density, the swelling becomes remarkable owing to fineness of the liquid flow path and the resulting long time of dissolution removal of the solid layer.
The requirement for the ink performance has become severer lately because of demands for higher image quality recorded by an ink jet printing system. For improvement of the ink, urea is incorporated in the ink as a humectant. Further, for improvement of water-resistance of the recorded matter, a slightly water-soluble dye is used as a coloring agent, and an alkali salt is incorporated in the ink to dissolve the dye. The ink containing urea or an alkali salt is relatively highly alkaline, which tends to swell the liquid flow path wall construction material similarly as the polar solvent. Accordingly, the conventional ink jet head produced by the above-mentioned process is liable to have the liquid flow path deformed by swelling due to the highly alkaline ink and thus to result in unsatisfactory liquid discharge, or is liable to cause separation of the liquid flow path wall construction material from the substrate, thus being not satisfactory in reliability of the ink jet head. As described above, the conventional production process for the ink jet head involves the technical problem of the swelling of the liquid flow path wall construction material by a polar solvent for removal of the solid layer or by a highly alkaline ink.
After comprehensive investigation of the thermosetting type epoxy resin composition as the liquid flow path wall construction material of the ink jet head, it was found by the inventors of the present invention that the above problem can be solved by use of a specific curing agent and a specific catalyst for the epoxy resin base material.


The invention provides a method of growing an (In, Ga)N multiplayer structure by molecular beam epitaxy. Each GaN or InGaN layer in the multilayer structure is grown at a substrate temperature of at least 650° C., and this provides improved material quality. Ammonia gas is used as the source of nitrogen for the growth process. Ammonia and gallium are supplied to the growth chamber at substantially constant rates, and the supply rate of indium to the growth chamber is varied to select the desired composition for the layer being grown. This allows the structure to be grown at a substantially constant growth rate. The substrate temperature is preferably kept constant during the growth process, to avoid the need to interrupt the growth process to vary the substrate temperature between the growth of one layer and the growth of another layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method for the epitaxial growth of Group III nitride semiconductor materials, in particular for the epitaxial growth of an (In,Ga)N quantum well structure or multiple quantum well structure.
2. Description of The Related Art
The InxGa1-xN (0≦×≦1) material family will be referred to herein as "(In,Ga)N" for convenience. The term "InGaN" will be used to denote a member of the (In,Ga)N family having an indium mole fraction that is non-zero, but that is less than one.
The epitaxial growth of Group III nitride semiconductor materials on a substrate can be effected by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) which is sometimes known as Vapour Phase Epitaxy (VPE).
CVD (or VPE) takes place in an apparatus which is commonly at atmospheric pressure but sometimes at a slightly reduced pressure of typically about 10 kPa. Ammonia and the species providing one or more Group III elements to be used in epitaxial growth are supplied substantially parallel to the surface of a substrate upon which epitaxial growth is to take place, thus forming a boundary layer adjacent to and flowing across the substrate surface. It is in this gaseous boundary layer that decomposition to form nitrogen and the other elements to be epitaxially deposited takes place so that the epitaxial growth is driven by gas phase equilibria.
In contrast to CVD, MBE is carried out in a high vacuum environment. In the case of MBE as applied to the (In,Ga)N system, an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment, typically around 1×10−3 Pa, is used. A nitrogen precursor is supplied to the MBE chamber by means of a supply conduit and species providing gallium and/or indium, and possibly also a suitable dopant species, are supplied from appropriate sources within heated effusion cells fitted with controllable shutters to control the amounts of the species supplied into the MBE chamber during the epitaxial growth period. The shutter-control outlets from the effusion cells and the nitrogen supply conduit face the surface of the substrate upon which epitaxial growth is to take place. The nitrogen precursor and the species supplied from the effusion cells travel across the MBE chamber and reach the substrate where epitaxial growth takes place in a manner which is driven by the deposition kinetics.
At present, the majority of growth of high quality nitride semiconductor layers is carried out using the metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) process. The MOCVD process allows growth to occur at a V/III ratio well in excess of 1000:1. The V/III ratio is the molar ratio of the group V element to the Group III element during the growth process. A high V/III ratio is preferable, since this allows a higher substrate temperature to be used which in turn leads to a higher quality semiconductor layer.
At present, growing high quality nitride semiconductor layers by MBE Is more difficult than growing such layers by MOCVD. The principal difficulty is in supplying sufficient nitrogen during the growth process, and it is difficult to obtain a V/III ratio of 10:1 or greater during MBE growth of a nitride semiconductor layer. The two commonly used sources of nitrogen in the MBE growth of nitride layers are plasma excited molecular nitrogen or ammonia.
One particular application of InGaN layers is in the manufacture of light-emitting diodes and laser diodes that emit light in the blue-green region of the spectrum. Light-emitting diodes and laser diodes that emit in this spectral range can be fabricated using layer structures of group III-nitride semiconductors, as disclosed by S. Nakamura and G. Fasol in "The Blue Laser Diode", Springer-Verlag (1997). (In,Ga)N quantum well structures are an essential component in the active region of these light-emitting diodes and laser diodes.
The (In,Ga)N quantum well structures in commercially available light-emitting diodes or laser diodes that emit in the blue-green region of the spectrum are grown using the MOCVD growth technique. The commercial growth of such laser diodes or light-emitting diodes by MOCVD has been reported by Nakamura and Fasol (above), and by S. Keller et al in "Applied Physics Letters" Vol. 68, p3147 (1996).
There have been some reports of the successful MBE growth of (In,Ga)N quantum well structures. For example, the growth of InGaN quantum well structures by MBE at a growth temperature of 670° C. has been reported by H. Riechert at al in "Proceedings of International Conference and Nitride Semiconductors", Tokushina, Japan (1997), and by W. D Herzog et al in "Applied Physics Letters" Vol 70, p1333 (1997). In both these reports, a plasma source was used to generate the activated nitrogen necessary for the growth process.
N. Grandjean et al have reported, In "Applied Physics Letters" Vol. 74 p3616 (1999), the MBE growth of (In,Ga)N multiple quantum well structures using ammonia as the source of nitrogen. However, this growth process was carried out at a low growth temperature, in the range 570 to 620° C. A low growth temperature was obtained because the flux of ammonia to the growth chamber was low, leading to a low V/III ratio.
As a consequence of the low growth temperature, the quality of the InGaN layers grown by these prior art MBE methods is much lower than the quality of InGaN layers grown by MOCVD.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,418 discloses a method of growing a multi-crystalline layer on a substrate, so as to allow a single crystal layer that is not lattice matched to the substrate to be grown over the multi-crystalline layer. It does not address the subsequent growth of further layers over the single crystal layer. The method is described for a number of material systems, including the growth of an InGaN layer over an R-face sapphire substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,418 refers to a growth temperature of 700° C. for an InGaN single crystal layer, but gives no directions as to how such a growth temperature could be achieved,

Method of growing a semiconductor multi-layer structure


A hard disk drive frame is provided. The distances from its hard disk drive fixing parts to the substrate center are not the same. During the process of vibrational energy transfer, three-dimensional reactions are induced correspondingly to cancel the kinetic energy transfer. The reactions generated at the static balance point in the three dimensions interfere one another to destroy vibrational frequencies in specific directions. Therefore, the disclosed hard disk drive is resistant to vibrations and suffers less from the resonance effect.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a hard disk drive (HDD) frame and, in particular, to a HDD frame in which the distances from its hard disk drive fixing parts to the substrate center are not the same. During the transfer process of vibrational energy, three-dimensional reactions are induced correspondingly to cancel the kinetic energy transfer. The reactions generated at the static balance point in the three dimensions interfere one another to destroy vibrational frequencies in specific directions. Therefore, the disclosed hard disk drive is resistant to vibrations and suffers less from the resonance effect.
2. Related Art
In recent years, rapid development in information and computer industries have facilitate the combination between computers and life. In addition to playing the role of data storage, the HDD is also used to boot the operating system (OS) of modern computers.
Since the pickup head of the HDD requires precision positioning in order to accurately read out the data, its user should avoid collisions of the HDD. Otherwise, the vibration may make the pickup head lose its precision or even damage data on the HDD.
However, the HDD in a normal computer cannot be free from vibrations. Industrial computers have particularly bad environments. Not only does the HDD have a shorter lifetime in a vibrational environment for a long time, it may break down in this case.
Therefore, most of the vibration-proof designs use vibration absorbing elements at the parts that fix the HDD, thereby absorbing vibrations generated by external forces. However, such a method can only absorb the external force in one direction, which is along the fixing axis of the HDD. It cannot simultaneously external forces in all directions. So its anti-vibration effect is very limited.
Consequently, some people suggest to use a HDD frame and to add vibration absorbing elements at all the fixing parts of the HDD frame in order to absorb forces from all directions. However, this method uses so many elements that it is not cost-effective and the assembly is more complicated.
Besides, the HDD frame is generally designed to have some line symmetry. That is, the HDD frame has a symmetrical axis; it is left-right symmetric. Such a design enables the vibrational energy to transfer in a symmetric way. The reactions induced at the static balance point in three directions do not interfere with one another. Therefore, the vibrational frequencies in specific directions cannot be destroyed. When a resonance happens, the HDD cannot be really free from vibrations.
In summary, the prior art always has the problem that existing HDD frame and vibration absorbing elements cannot avoid resonance. It is thus imperative to provide a better solution.


A method for operating a packaging machine including one or more of the method steps advancing a transport chain along a chain deflection pulley, wherein chain clips are arranged on the transport chain and moved during the advancing motion of the transport chain along a run-on contour, to open at least one of the chain clips; introducing a flat material blank into the at least one open chain clip using a feed device or by entraining the flat material blank using a connection to a second material blank preceding the flat material blank, wherein the material blank enters the open chain clip during an advancing motion of the transport chain; closing the chain clip by leaving the run-on contour, to grip and secure the material blank in the chain clip; and transporting the material blank to a work station using the transport chain.

In addition to work stations for filling and subsequently sealing packagings, packaging machines, in particular for food products, typically also comprise work stations for forming the packaging itself from a primary material supplied. For example, packaging trays, into which a food product is subsequently inserted, are formed by way of thermo-forming from a suitable base film and the packaging tray is sealed airtight with a top film. As the use of alternative packaging materials becomes increasingly relevant to raise environmental sustainability and recyclability, packaging machines must also be adapted for use with these materials. When using, for example, coated cardboard as the starting material for flat packaging bases, it is usually supplied as a stack or series of flat material blanks and must be supplied to the packaging machine by a suitable material supply.

Method for cyclically advancing material blanks in a packaging machine