A corner element for use in combination with cabinet corner structures such as those found in kitchen cabinets or the like includes a pair of side portions having an angular relationship therebetween which corresponds to the angle of cabinet intersection. An obliquely angled facet extends between the side portions. A generally cylindrical concave curved surface extends between the remaining end portions of the side surfaces to complete the corner element. In its preferred use, the corner element is secured to the cabinet base portions at the corner area to interpose the curved surface between the base portions and preclude dirt or debris from accumulating within the corner intersection of the cabinet bases.

Perhaps one of the familiar structures in modern dwellings is that generally referred to as cabinets or the like. For example, in a typical kitchen environment, a substantial amount of storage is provided by a plurality of floor supported storage cabinets usually topped by a countertop or work surface. Often a plurality of additional cabinets are supported above the countertop work surface in a configuration generally conforming to the arrangement of floor supported cabinets. While the structures of such cabinets is subject to substantial design variation and aesthetic considerations, generally all utilize a partially recessed support base at the junction between the lower cabinets and the supporting floor. As a general convenience element, this recessed base portion permits the user to stand close to the countertop work surface while engaging in various kitchen tasks and allows the user's feet to be comfortably positioned upon the floor extending beneath the cabinets. It has been found through the years that this recessed base portion greatly enhances the comfort and avoids the difficulty associated with standing close to the cabinets and countertops which would otherwise arise without the use of such recessed portions.
While the recessed base structure of the typical kitchen cabinet or the like enhances user comfort, it often makes cleaning the floor surface difficult. This problem is particularly acute for those areas or portions of the cabinet arrangement which form corners at the cabinet junctions. In the most common of kitchen arrangements, at least one and sometimes several right angle intersections of cabinet portions are provided to maximize space. The resulting corner junction of the cabinets and floor portion in the corner vicinity along the baseboards forms a difficult to reach and often hard to clean area.
A similar problem may arise in other cabinet structures such as those found in office work stations or other commercial environments which utilize floor supported storage cabinets or the like. In addition, in certain environments, other cabinet intersections with supporting surfaces such as countertops or worktops may provide similar difficult to clean corner portions.
In many commercial applications, as well as some kitchen environments, the problem is addressed by generally avoiding sharp angled corner cabinet intersections by using corner angled cabinet elements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,098 issued to Fedder, et al. sets forth a MODULAR COUNTER WORK STATION FOR TELLERS in which a generally U-shaped work station is formed by a plurality of floor supported cabinet elements. A countertop having a similar U-shape is supported upon the cabinets. The corner portions of the cabinets and countertop include angled facets which define sufficient area to support the teller apparatus for the work station.
While some flexibility may be utilized to avoid sharp angled or right angled corner intersections in work environments such as kitchen cabinet structures or the like, there remains a continuing need in the art for providing an easier to clean structure for such areas without sacrificing the efficiency of such cabinet arrangements.


This invention provides a high-output industrial light fixture that employs a plurality of commercially available fluorescent light sources in an array of adjustable arm assemblies each housing one or more light sources (fluorescent bulbs) in an associated reflector box or other source housing structure. By adjusting the arm assemblies, a more-precise spread of light onto the target surface can be achieved. Arm mounting brackets can be provided with one or more locking positions to facilitate multi-position angular placement of each individual arm. A plurality of arm assemblies can be provided around a center housing or hub, each directed outwardly in a radial direction from a central point or axis of the center housing/hub. Each arm's source reflector box/source housing structure can be located to project light either downwardly or upwardly and can be angled at a plurality of angular adjustment positions with respect to the center housing in each of the upward and/or downward positions. The bottom surface of center housing remains unobstructed (with arm assemblies extending away from it) so that cameras, sensors and other devices can be provided thereon. In an alternate embodiment, the reflector box/source housing structure for containing each light source can be mounted so as to extend transversely to a radial direction from the center. Accordingly, each box is located at a radial spacing from the center and extends substantially perpendicularly with respect to the radius, so as to define a polygon of reflector boxes around the center.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to industrial lighting and, more particularly, to high-output lighting fixtures using fluorescent lighting sources.
2. Background Information
High-output lighting fixtures are used in a variety of indoor and outdoor applications. Notably, a large unobstructed volume, such as a warehouse or indoor arena may employ a significant number of fixtures, which depend from the roof or supporting beams at predetermined spacing, in order to create a desired lighting effect. The fixtures often used for this purpose are metal-halide bulb fixtures, such as the exemplary fixture 100 shown in FIG. 1. Such metal-halide fixtures typically include a base 102 attached to one end of a chain or cable 104, with the chain's opposing end (not shown) secured to the building's roof or an associated support beam. The exemplary fixture base 102 includes a mounting socket 106 for a single large metal-halide bulb 110. This type of fixture may mount another high-output single bulb (rather than metal-halide) including a mercury vapor bulb or sodium bulb. Typically, the bulb 110 is encased within an open space 112 defined by a hemispherical (or other shape) shield or shade 114, having a lower end 120 that is open to allow light to escape. The inner surface 122 of the field may be reflective or transparent, depending upon the application. In general, the shape of the shield or shade 114 is designed to reflect the light generated by the bulb in a desired pattern onto the floor below.
Metal-halide, and similar types of single-bulb fixtures, exhibit certain performance characteristics. For example, they tend to have a relatively wide light distribution that, because of the fixed shade and single source, is not variable or directable. These bulbs also tend to create spots of light on the ground surface while areas between the fixture light spots may be darker. This leads to the so-called "cave effect." These lighting performance characteristics may, thus, provide a less-desirable lit space on which to conduct activities. In addition, metal-halide and other high-output bulbs or sources tend to generate substantial waste heat. This increases is a result of inefficiency in converting electric power to light, and where a large number of fixtures are employed, may actually serve as a significant heat source in the building volume (such heat increasing overall cooling costs and being particularly problematic in a cool environment such as an ice arena). Also, the excessive heat may eventually degrade the materials from which the fixture is constructed.
Furthermore, metal-halide bulbs or sources tend to exhibit weakened output after approximately one month of use. This leads to even lower efficiencies and even higher electric consumption for such fixtures. In addition, metal-halide bulbs require substantial warm-up time to attain full brightness. Again, this increases consumption by requiring lights to be activated a significant time before they are actually needed and/or is otherwise inconvenient, as lights are not available on demand.
Finally, metal-halide bulbs, and other commercial, high-output incandescent light sources are plagued with significant color rendition problems. In essence, their output often exhibits a monotone/monochromatic color that washes out the target area in an "unnatural" hue. For example, a heavy orange or yellow tint may be present. In most instances a fuller-spectrum of light is highly desired.
It is therefore desirable to provide a light fixture that eliminates or reduces some or all of the disadvantages of metal-halide fixtures and those using similar bulb or source technologies.

Multi-arm adjustable fluorescent lighting fixture


A zoom lens includes, a first lens unit (1) having a positive refractive power and is fixed with respect to an image plane; a second lens unit (2) having a negative refractive power and causing a variable power action when moved along an optical axis; an aperture stop (6) fixed with respect to the image plane; a third lens unit (3) having a positive refractive power and fixed with respect to the optical axis direction when zooming and when focusing; a fourth lens unit (4) having a negative refractive power and fixed with respect to the image plane; and a fifth lens unit (5) having a positive refractive power and moveable along the optical axis such that the image plane, which is displaced by a movement of the second lens unit along the optical axis and by a movement of the object, is maintained at a constant position from a reference plane. The entire third lens unit is moveable in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. A condition, 0.035<|βw·βt/Z|<0.075, is satisfied, where βw: magnification ratio of the second lens unit at the wide-angle end; βt: magnification ratio of the second lens unit at the telephoto end; and Z: zoom ratio.

Conventionally, an image stabilizing function against image shake due to hand movement or the like has become indispensable in image pickup systems such as video cameras, and various types of image stabilizing optical systems have been proposed.
For example, as disclosed in JP H08-29737A, a type is known in which an optical system for image stabilization configured by two lenses is mounted in front of a zoom lens and stabilizes image shake by moving one of these lenses perpendicularly with respect to the optical axis.
Moreover, as disclosed in JP H07-128619A, a type is known in which, in a zoom lens made of four lens units, image shake due to hand movement is stabilized by moving a part of the third lens unit constituted by a plurality of lenses perpendicularly with respect to the optical axis.
However, in the type disclosed in JP H08-29737A, the optical system for image stabilization is mounted in front of the zoom lens, so that the lens diameter of the optical system for image stabilization becomes large. Moreover, the overall device becomes accordingly large, thus increasing the load on the driving system. For this reason, it was disadvantageous with regard to miniaturization, lighter weight and energy saving.
In the type disclosed in JP H07-128619A, in order to stabilize an image against image shake, a part of the three units fixed with respect to the image plane is perpendicularly movable with respect to the optical axis, so that it is advantageous with regard to size compared to the type in which the optical system for image stabilization is mounted in front of the zoom lens. However, the lens unit for image stabilization is made of three lenses, so that the load on the actuator is large, and also the zoom ratio is smaller than a factor of about ×10.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The invention provides a method of priming an immune response in the presence of maternal antibody in a young animal by administering to a 1-90 day old animal, a biocompatible and non-toxic solid phase implant containing an immunogenic agent. A preferred implant according to the invention is one that becomes gradually disintegrated in situ the animal. The implant provides for extended sustained delivery of the immunogenic agent into surrounding tissue fluids in the presence of circulating maternal antibodies to provide a priming dose of the immunogenic agent to stimulate substantially immediate antibody production for active immunity against a pathogen when passive protection is no longer provided by circulating maternal antibodies.

To properly protect a herd or flock of animals from bacterial and viral infections, it is important that the animals maintain a level of immunity against a pathogen at the point when effective passive immunity from circulating maternal antibodies is lost. In mammals, a fetus receives maternally-synthesized antibodies while in utero which confers passive protection to the fetus. In the avian species, immunity is transferred from the hen via the egg, and the progeny in the first few months of life are protected against toxins, viruses and pathogenic bacteria. The levels of these maternal antibodies gradually decline as the newborn begins to synthesize its own antibodies.
The first exposure of an animal to a particular immunogen triggers a priming response. After initial contact with an immunogen, there is a latent period before antibody to that immunogen is detectable in the serum, generally about 1-2 weeks, during which time T and B cells make contact with the immunogen, proliferate, differentiate, and secrete antibody which then increases exponentially in the serum of the animal, reaches a steady state and then, as the immune response shuts down, decreases in concentration in the serum. This priming contact with an immunogen leaves the immunized animal with a cellular memory of the contact such that, upon a second, later contact with the immunogen, a secondary or anamnestic (memory) immune response is automatically triggered in which the lag phase is considerably shorter and the antibody appears much faster and at a higher concentration in the serum. This capacity to make a secondary response provides an advantage to an animal that survives the first contact with an invading pathogen.
Maternal antibody, while capable of providing passive protection to the neonate against a variety of infectious agents or their toxins, may also interfere with the animal's active response to an immunogen by reacting with and tying up the immunogen. As a result, administration of a priming dose of an immunogen to stimulate active immunity in the newborn must be delayed until the level of circulating maternal antibodies has decreased.
To provide continuous coverage so that immunity is maintained after the disappearance of maternal antibodies, the herd may be immunized en masse when all animals have lost passive immunity. A drawback of this approach is that there will be a certain percentage of animals who lose immunity before the rest of the group and are therefore vulnerable during the interim. Another approach is to vaccinate an animal with an immunogen repeatedly from day one until they are found capable of responding, but the stress on the animal and expense for the breeder prohibits this tactic. Yet another approach is to administer to a young animal, a priming dose of an immunogen in a preparation that will present the immunogen in a slowly dissipating material. Examples of such preparations are an injectable water-in-oil emulsion containing live virus, a suspension of an antigen in Freund's complete adjuvant or phosphatidylcholine (egg-lecithin)- or cholesterol-based liposomes containing an entrapped immunogen. However, such preparations do not provide adequate long-term delivery of an immunogen and may cause adverse reactions such as granuloma formation. There is also the risk of the person administering the injection accidentally injecting themselves with the preparation, resulting in an adverse reaction from the injected ingredients. For example, injecting mineral oil into a human finger, or other tissue or body part, will cause severe reaction and may result in the loss of tissue or worse.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide an effective method for priming the immune system of a young animal to achieve a virtually immediate active immune response to infection by a pathogenic organism at the point where such protection is no longer provided by maternal antibodies, without irritation or undue stress caused to the animal. Another object is to provide an effective method for immunizing a large number of animals.

Method of inducing an immune response in a young animal


The present invention relates to a novel LPS-responsive and Beige-like Anchor gene (lrba), variants of the lrba gene, fragments of the lrba gene, and polypeptides encoded thereby. The subject invention also pertains to lrba interfering RNA, and uses thereof. In another aspect, the present invention also includes methods of inhibiting tumor growth in a patient by suppressing lrba function.

Mutations in chs1/beige result in a deficiency in intracellular transport of vesicles that leads to a generalized immune deficiency in mouse and man. The function of NK cells, CTL, and granulocytes is impaired by these mutations indicating that polarized trafficking of vesicles is controlled by chs1/beige proteins. However, a molecular explanation for this defect has not been identified.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a potent inducer of maturation in B cells, monocytes, and dendritic cells that facilitates production of inflammatory cytokines, nitric oxide, and antigen presentation so that these cells can participate in the immune response to bacterial pathogens (Harris, M. R. et al. Journal of Immunology, 1984, 133:1202; Tobias, P.S. et al. Progress in Clinical & Biol. Res., 1994, 388:31; Inazawa, M. et al. Lymphokine Res., 1985, 4:343). In an attempt to identify genes involved in the maturation of immune cells, a gene-trapping strategy was developed to identify mammalian genes whose expression is altered by cellular stimuli (Kerr, W. G. et al. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 1989, 54:767). Several novel LPS-responsive genes were successfully trapped (Kerr, W. G. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. of Sci. USA, 1996, 93:3947), including the SHIP gene that plays a role in controlling the maturation and proliferation of B cells and monocytes/macrophages in vivo (Huber, M. et al. Prog. in Biophysics and Molecular Biol., 1999, 71:423; Ono, M. et al. Nature, 1996, 383:263; Ono, M. et al. Cell, 1997, 90:293).
Chediak-Higashi Syndrome (CHS3) patients suffer from a systematic immune deficiency characterized by a severe immune defect, hypopigmentation, progressive neurologic dysfunction and a bleeding diathesis (Spritz, R. A. Jour. of Clinical Immun., 1998, 18:97). Specific defects in immune cells include defects in T cell cytotoxicity (Abo, T. et al. Jour. of Clinical Investigation, 1982, 70:193; Baetz, K. et al. Jour. of Immun., 1995, 154:6122), killing by NK cells (Haliotis, T. et al. Jour. of Exper. Med., 1980, 151:1039), defective bactericidal activity and chemotaxis by granulocytes and monocytes (Clark, R. A. and H. R. Kimball Jour. of Clinical Investigation, 1971, 50:2645). CHS and beige lysosomes also exhibit compartmental missorting of proteins (Takeuchi, K. et al. Jour. of Exper. Med., 1986, 163:665). Other studies have found that beige macrophages are defective for class II surface presentation (Faigle, W. et al. J. Cell Biol., 1998, 141:1121; Lem, L. et al. Jour. of Immun., 1999, 162:523) and that T cells in CHS patients are defective for CTLA4 surface expression (Barrat, F. J. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. of Sci. USA, 1999, 96:8645). All cells in beige mice and CHS patients bear giant vesicles that cluster around the nucleus. Affected vesicles include lysosomes, platelet dense granules, endosomes, and cytolytic granules. These giant vesicles seem normal in several aspects except for their failure to release their contents, probably resulting from inability of the giant granules to mobilize and/or fuse with the membrane upon stimulation (Baetz, K. et al. Jour. of Immun., 1995, 154:6122). However, despite these very provocative findings there still remains no direct evidence that BG(beige)/CHS1 proteins associate with intracellular vesicles and thus a molecular explanation for defective vesicle trafficking and protein missorting in these diseases is still sought.


A traffic information transmitting apparatus, method, and program store accumulated traffic information including past traffic information and estimate traffic information at a time when a vehicle passes through a predetermined link based on the accumulated traffic information. The apparatus, method, and program determine whether the estimated traffic information is substantially different from traffic information stored in the vehicle. The apparatus, method, and program transmit, when the estimated traffic information and the traffic information stored in the vehicle are substantially different, the substantially different estimated traffic information to the vehicle.

1. Related Technical Fields
Related technical fields include traffic information transmitting apparatus and traffic information transmitting methods.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional vehicle navigation apparatus, such as, for example, described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-302224, obtain and store various kinds of traffic information necessary for performing a route search from an exclusive information communication system. The conventional vehicle navigation apparatus use the stored information when for searching for a shortest route.

Traffic information transmitting apparatus, transmitting method, and transmitting program


A pixel circuit able to stably and correctly supply a current having a desired value to a light emitting diode of each pixel without being influenced by variation of a threshold value of an active element inside the pixel or variation of mobility and able to display a high quality image as a result of this, wherein a TFT as a fourth switch is turned on together with a TFT as a second switch at the time of an auto-zero operation, a reference current line is connected to a drive transistor of the pixel through a first node, and the variation of the threshold value Vth is corrected, whereby variation of the on current due to the mobility at the time of a white display can be suppressed and the uniformity with respect to variation in the mobility can be greatly enhanced, and a display device and a driving method of the pixel circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pixel circuit having an organic electroluminescence (EL) element or other electro-optic element with a luminance controlled by a current value and an image display device comprised of such pixel circuits arrayed in a matrix, in particular a so-called active matrix type image display device controlled in value of current flowing through the electro-optic elements by insulating gate type field effect transistors provided inside the pixel circuits, and a driving method of the pixel circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image display device, for example, a liquid crystal display, a large number of pixels are arranged in a matrix and the light intensity is controlled for every pixel in accordance with the image information to be displayed so as to display an image. This same is true for an organic EL display etc. An organic EL display is a so-called self light emitting type display having a light emitting element in each pixel circuit and has the advantages that the viewability the image is higher in comparison with a liquid crystal display, a backlight is unnecessary, the response speed is high, etc. Further, it greatly differs from a liquid crystal display etc. in the point that the gradations of the color generation are obtained by controlling the luminance of each light emitting element by the value of the current flowing through to, that is, the light emitting element is a current controlled type.
An organic EL display, in the same way as a liquid crystal display, may be driven by a simple matrix and an active matrix system, but while the former has a simple structure, it has the problem that realization of a large sized and high definition display is difficult. For this reason, much effort is being devoted to development of the active matrix system of controlling the current flowing through the light emitting element inside each pixel circuit by an active element provided inside the pixel circuit, generally, a thin film transistor (TFT).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the configuration of a general organic EL display device. This display device 1 has, as shown in FIG. 1, a pixel array portion 2 comprised of pixel circuits (PXLC) 2a arranged in an m×n matrix, a horizontal selector (HSEL) 3, a write scanner (WSCN) 4, data lines DTL1 to DTLn selected by the horizontal selector 3 and supplied with a data signal in accordance with the luminance information, and scanning lines WSL1 to WSLm selectively driven by the write scanner 4.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of an example of the configuration of a pixel circuit 2a of FIG. 1 (refer to for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,365 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-234683. The pixel circuit of FIG. 2 has the simplest circuit configuration among the large number of proposed circuits and is a so-called two-transistor driving system circuit.
The pixel circuit 2a of FIG. 2 has a p-channel thin film field effect transistor (hereinafter, referred to as TFT) 11 and TFT 12, a capacitor C11, and a light emitting element made of an organic EL element (OLED) 13. Further, in FIG. 2, DTL indicates a data line, and WSL indicates a scanning line. An organic EL element has a rectification property in many cases, so sometimes is referred to as an organic light emitting diode (OLED). The symbol of a diode is used as the light emitting diode in FIG. 2 and the other figures, but a rectification property is not always required for an organic EL element in the following explanation. In FIG. 2, a source of the TFT 11 is connected to a power supply potential VCC, and a cathode of the light emitting diode 13 is connected to a ground potential GND. The operation of the pixel circuit 2a of FIG. 2 is as follows.
Step ST1
When the scanning line WSL is made a selected state (low level here) and a write potential Vdata is supplied to the data line DTL, the TFT 12 becomes conductive, the capacitor C11 is charged or discharged, and the gate potential of the TFT 11 becomes Vdata.
Step ST2
When the scanning line WSL is made a non-selected state (high level here), the data line DTL and the TFT 11 are electrically separated, but the gate potential of the TFT 11 is held stably by the capacitor C11.
Step ST3
The current flowing through the TFT 11 and the light emitting diode 13 becomes a value in accordance with a gate-source voltage Vgs of the TFT 11, while the light emitting diode 13 is continuously emitting light with a luminance in accordance with the current value. As in the above step ST1, the operation of selecting the scanning line WSL and transmitting the luminance information given to the data line to the inside of a pixel will be referred to as "writing" below. As explained above, in the pixel circuit 2a of FIG. 2, if once the Vdata is written, the light emitting diode 13 continues to emit light with a constant luminance in the period up to the next rewriting.
As explained above, in the pixel circuit 2a, by changing a gate application voltage of the drive transistor constituted by the TFT 11, the value of the current flowing through the EL light emitting element 13 is controlled. At this time, the source of the drive transistor of p-channel is connected to the power supply potential VCC, so this TFT 11 is always operating in a saturated region. Accordingly, it becomes a constant current source having a value shown in the following equation 1.Ids=½·μ(W/L)Cox(Vgs−|Vth|)2  (1)
Here, μ indicates the mobility of a carrier, Cox indicates a gate capacitance per unit area, W indicates a gate width, L indicates a gate length, Vgs indicates the gate-source voltage of the TFT 11, and Vth indicates the threshold value of the TFT 11.
In a simple matrix type image display device, each light emitting diode emits light only at a selected instant, while in an active matrix, as explained above, the light emitting element continues emitting light even after the end of the writing. Therefore, it becomes advantageous in especially a large sized and high definition display in the point that the peak luminance and peak current of the light emitting element can be lowered in comparison with a simple matrix.
However, TFTs generally exhibit large variation in the Vth and mobility μ. For this reason, even if the same input voltage is supplied to the gates of different drive transistors, the on current thereof will vary. As a result, the uniformity of the image quality will deteriorate.
In order to alleviate this problem, a large number of pixel circuits have been proposed. A typical example is shown in FIG. 3 (refer to for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,506 and Japanese National Publication (Tokuhyo) No. 2002-514320).
A pixel circuit 2b of FIG. 3 has p-channel TFT 21 to TFT 24, capacitors C21 and C22, and a light emitting element made of an organic EL light emitting diode (OLED) 25. Further, in FIG. 3, DTL indicates a data line, WSL indicates a scanning line, AZL indicates an auto-zero line, and DSL indicates a drive line.
An explanation will be given below of the operation of this pixel circuit 2b while referring to the timing charts shown in FIGS. 4A to 4G. FIG. 4A shows a scanning signal ws[1] applied to the scanning line WSL1 of the first row of the pixel array; FIG. 4B shows a scanning signal ws[2] applied to the scanning line WSL2 of a second row of the pixel array, FIG. 4C shows an auto-zero signal az[1] applied to the auto-zero line AZL1 of the first row of the pixel array; FIG. 4D shows an auto-zero signal az[2] applied to the auto-zero line AZL2 of the second row of the pixel array; FIG. 4E shows a drive signal ds[1] applied to the drive line DSL1 of the first row of the pixel array; FIG. 4F shows a drive signal ds[2] applied to the drive line DSL2 of the second row of the pixel array; and FIG. 4G shows a gate potential Vg of the TFT21. Note that, the operation of the pixel circuit of the first row will be explained below.
As shown in FIGS. 4C and 4E, the drive signal ds[1] to the drive line DSL1 and the auto-zero signal az[1] to the auto-zero line AZL1 are made the low level, and the TFT 22 and TFT 23 are made the conductive state. At this time, the TFT 21 is connected to the light emitting element (OLED) 25 in a diode-connected state, so the current flows through the TFT 21. At this time, the gate potential Vg of the TFT 21 falls as shown in FIG. 4G.
As shown in FIG. 4E, the drive signal ds[1] to the drive line DSL1 is made the high level, and the TFT 22 is made the non-conductive state. At this time, when the scanning signal ws[1] to the scanning line WSL1 is the high level, the TFT 24 is held in the non-conductive state as shown in FIG. 4A. Along with the TFT 22 becoming the non-conductive state, the current flowing through the light emitting element 25 is shut off, therefore, as shown in FIG. 4G, the gate potential Vg of the TFT 21 rises, but the TFT 21 becomes the non-conductive state and the potential becomes stable at the point of time when the potential rises up to Vcc−|Vth|. This operation will be referred to as an "auto-zero operation".
As shown in FIG. 4C, the auto-zero signal az[1] to the auto-zero line AZL1 is made the high level and the TFT 23 is made the non-conductive state to terminate the auto-zero operation (Vth correction operation), then the drive signal ds[1] to the drive line DSL1 is made the low level to make the TFT 22 the conductive state.
Then, the scanning signal ws[1] to the scanning line WSL1 is made the low level as shown in FIG. 4A.to make the TFT 24 is made the conductive state and a data signal having a predetermined potential propagated through the data line DTL1 is applied to the capacitor C21. Due to this, as shown in FIG. 4G, the gate potential of the TFT 21 is lowered by exactly ΔVg via the capacitor C21. As shown in FIG. 4A, the scanning line WSL1 is made the high level to make the TFT 24 the non-conductive state. Due to this, the current flows through the TFT 21 and the EL light emitting element (OLED) 25, and the EL light emitting element 25 starts to emit light.
Summarizing the problems to be solved by the invention as explained above, in the pixel circuit of FIG. 3, by turning on the auto-zero switch constituted by the TFT 23 during a period when the EL light emitting diode 25 does not emit light, the drive transistor TFT21 is made a cut-off state. In the cut-off state, no current flows through this transistor TFT 21, so the gate-source voltage Vgs thereof becomes equal to the threshold value Vth of each transistor, and the Vth variation for every pixel is cancelled. Next, by turning off the TFT 23, then turning on the TFT 24, a voltage ΔV is coupled with the gate of the drive transistor TFT21 through the capacitor C21 in the pixel of the data line voltage. Assuming that this coupling amount is V0, the drive transistor TFT 21 will not depend upon the Vth, an on current corresponding to Vgs−Vgh=V0 flows, and an image quality without unevenness of uniformity due to Vth variation is obtained.
In the pixel circuit of FIG. 3, however, even if the Vth variation can be corrected, the variation of the mobility μ cannot be corrected. Below, this problem will be explained in further detail in relation to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a graph of characteristic curves of ΔV (=Vgs−Vth) of drive transistors having different mobilities and the drain-source current Ids in the pixel circuit of FIG. 3. In FIG. 5, an abscissa represents the voltage ΔV, and an ordinate represents the current Ids. Further, in FIG. 5, a curve indicated by a solid line indicates the characteristic of a pixel A, and a curve indicated by a broken line indicates the characteristic of a pixel B.
As shown in FIG. 5, the mobility is different between the characteristic of the pixel A indicated by the solid line and the characteristic of the pixel B indicated by the broken line. In the pixel circuit system of FIG. 3, at the auto-zero point (ΔV=V0), the current value is equal even between pixel transistors having different mobilities. However, as the voltage rises thereafter, the variation of the mobility μ appears in the current value. For example, in the pixel A and the pixel B having different mobilities, even when the same voltage ΔV=V0 is applied, variation of the current Ids occurs according to the above equation 1 and the luminances of the pixels become different. That is, a large current flows, the current value ends up being affected by the variation of the mobility as it becomes bright, the uniformity varies, and the image quality ends deteriorating.
Further, FIG. 6 is a graph of the change of the gate voltage of the drive transistor at the time of an auto-zero operation at pixels C and D having different threshold values Vth of the drive transistor. In FIG. 6, the abscissa represents the time t, and the ordinate represents the gate voltage Vgs. Further, in FIG. 6, a curve indicated by the solid line indicates the characteristic of a pixel C, and a curve indicated by the broken line indicates the characteristic of a pixel D.
The auto-zero operation is carried out by connecting the gate and the source of the drive transistor. Also, the on current thereof rapidly decreases as it approaches the cut-off region. For this reason, a long time is required until the variation of the cut-off threshold value is completely cancelled. As shown in FIG. 6, when the auto-zero time is insufficient, the variation of the threshold value Vth is not completely cancelled in the pixel C. In this way, due to the variation of the threshold value Vth, it is also believed that variation occurs even in the writing state of the gate voltage and therefore the uniformity is deteriorated due to this.
Further, even if the variation of the threshold value Vth is cancelled by taking sufficient time for the auto-zero operation, an off current will flow through the drive transistor after the cut-off, though small in amount. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, the gate voltage gradually rises toward the power supply voltage Vcc. As a result, regardless of the fact that variation of the threshold value Vth was once cancelled by the auto-zero operation, the gate potentials of the pixels having the threshold value Vth variation finally become uniform toward the power supply voltage, so the variation of the threshold value Vth appears again.
From the above description, in order to effectively cancel the variation of the threshold value Vth in an actual device, it is necessary to optimally adjust the auto-zero period for every panel. However, this adjustment of the optimum auto-zero period for every panel takes an enormous amount of time and raises the cost of the panels.

Pixel circuit, display device, and driving method of pixel circuit


A single-contact tunneling thermometry circuit includes a tunnel junction formed between two objects. Junction temperature gradient information is determined based on a mathematical relationship between a target alternating voltage applied across the junction and the junction temperature gradient. Total voltage measured across the junction indicates the magnitude of the target alternating voltage. A thermal gradient is induced across the junction. A reference thermovoltage is measured when zero alternating voltage is applied across the junction. An increasing alternating voltage is applied while measuring a thermovoltage component and a DC rectification voltage component created by the applied alternating voltage. The target alternating voltage is reached when the thermovoltage is nullified or doubled by the DC rectification voltage depending on the sign of the reference thermovoltage. Thermoelectric current and current measurements may be utilized in place of the thermovoltage and voltage measurements. The system may be automated with a feedback loop.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to tunneling thermometry, and more particularly, to single contact tunneling thermometry.
2. Related Art
Although temperature measurements on the micro- and nanoscale are greatly challenging, they are vitally important in a large number of technological processes. Power dissipation on the scale of single nanoscale electronic elements may be a limiting factor in both future scaling of microelectronic elements and their operation at higher clock-frequencies and in confined environments. Micro- and nanoscale temperature measurements are the foundation of thermal microscopy, which is a highly versatile technique that can address power dissipation and local heating effects in conducting materials, junctions and interconnects, and may prospectively be used for optical and biological applications. Having a knowledge of temperature gradients across a material (derived from temperature maps), across an interconnect, or across a point-contact junction may lead to qualitative and quantitative estimates of thermal conductivity, which is a fundamentally important property for a wide variety of electronic and energy applications. Finally, nanoscale thermometry is a platform for fundamental discoveries in thermal transport and electron-phonon interactions, both of which need to be optimized for the design of efficient thermoelectric energy harvesting, electronic refrigeration and thermal management in microscale and nanoscale systems.
The most advanced optical methods for thermal measurements, relying on spectroscopy of infrared photons, may only provide a resolution on the order of 1 micrometer. Therefore, today, the absolute majority of nano- and microscale temperature measurements are carried out using point-contact techniques, broadly termed Scanning Thermal Microscopy, which rely on miniaturized thermocouples or resistive thermometers. Such measurements are typically carried out by bringing a thermal probe into a good mechanical and, crucially, a good thermal contact with a sample of interest and reading out the local temperature from the electronic response of the thermal probe (typically thermovoltage of the thermocouple, electrical resistance of a resistive thermometer such as a Wollaston probe, or local power dissipation). The probe may be raster-scanned across the surface of the heated material to map out local temperature variations. A documented resolution of such techniques is ˜50 nm.
Scanning Thermal Microscopy utilizes two electrical leads that come to a junction, and it is at this junction that the thermal-electronic signal will be generated. Although the point of mechanical contact to the surface can then be extended beyond the junction of the two wires, and further miniaturized, the mere fact of requiring two separate wires precludes efficient downsizing of the probe as a whole, or its integration with microelectronic devices, micro- and nano-electromechanical systems, and other related technologies.
An even more serious limitation of making a physical contact to measure local temperature is that, in contrast to macroscopic thermocouples, the temperature sensors in micro- and nanoscale contact thermometry may not equilibrate with the surface of interest. Any of these three scenarios may apply: (1) the thermal resistance of the point contact may be larger (for metal contacts ˜107 K/W) than that of the thermometer leads (˜105 K/W), in which case one should consider explicitly the flow of heat from the temperature sensor to the object of interest. This may be a very complicated problem to treat quantitatively because of the lack of detailed knowledge of the contact geometry and the resulting thermal boundary resistances. Typically, one may rely on a calibration of the method using objects with known temperatures, or a theoretical modeling of the problem, both of which are not only time consuming, but also prone to their own errors. Moreover, temperature equilibrium may be amplified with diminishing size of the two-terminal temperature probe. (2) The opposite may be true: the thermal resistance of the point contact may be poor such as in the case of bad physical contact. In this case, the sensor may equilibrate but the temperature reading may not be accurate, and also not sufficiently sensitive (depending on exact parameters). (3) The size of the measured object is smaller than the size of the probe (e.g. nanoparticles, lithographic patterns etc.) In this case the sensor itself will introduce too much perturbation, altering the temperature of the object and producing flawed measurements.


In a first aspect, the invention is directed to a multi-speed drive for controlling the speed of a load that is driven from a crankshaft of an engine. The multi-speed drive permits the speed of the load to be adjusted based on one or more parameters, such as vehicle speed, engine RPM, battery charge level (e.g. when the load is an alternator), coolant temperature (e.g. when the load is a cooling fan), engine power demand from the vehicle driver, water level in which the vehicle is driving (e.g. when the load is a cooling fan whose blades could be damaged or could cause damage to other vehicle components if they impact water during use). The speeds provided by the multi-speed drive may include two or more non-zero rotational speeds, or two or more non-zero rotational speeds and a zero speed, or one non-zero rotational speed and a zero speed.

Some multi-speed drive systems have been proposed for controlling the operative connection between an engine crankshaft in a vehicle, with an accessory in the vehicle. However, such systems have not succeeded in the marketplace for a variety of reasons. Such systems may be complex, unreliable, expensive and bulky, and may draw a significant amount of power for their operation. They may also be difficult to control and may be difficult to install.
It would be beneficial however to be able to provide a multi-speed system that is capable of driving an accessory and that at least partially addresses one or more of the aforementioned problems.

Multi-speed drive for transferring power to a load


A method of fabricating spacers is provided. The method includes providing a substrate with a device structure formed thereon. The device structure comprises a gate structure and a pair of source/drain regions. Then, a spacer material layer is formed over the substrate to cover the substrate and the device structure. Thereafter, an etching process is performed to remove a portion of the spacer material layer so that spacers are formed on the respective sidewalls of the gate structure. After that, a plasma treatment step is performed to form a spacer protection layer on the surface of the substrate, the spacers and the gate structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and fabrication process. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of fabricating spacers and its post-etching cleaning and semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conventional method of fabricating a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, spacers are often formed on the respective sidewalls of the gate to increase the degree of isolation between the source/drain regions and the gate. More importantly, the entire structure including the spacers and the gate can be utilized to form the source/drain regions in a doping step.
In general, the process of fabricating the gate spacers includes sequentially forming a gate oxide layer and a polysilicon layer over a semiconductor substrate. Then, the gate oxide layer and the polysilicon layer are defined to form a gate structure. Thereafter, a silicon nitride layer is formed to cover the entire gate structure. After that, an etching process is performed to form silicon nitride spacers on the respective sidewalls of the gate structure. After performing the spacer etching process and before carrying out a subsequent process, the entire wafer will be immersed in a rinsing tank to perform a cleaning step so that any micro particles and post-etching residual polymer attached to the substrate are removed.
However, the chemical cleaning solution in the rinsing operation frequently leads to some damages to the surface of the spacers and the attrition of the spacer film layer resulting in a reduction of the width of the spacers. Ultimately, the short channel effect will be amplified and gate-source/drain capacitance value will be increased. Furthermore, the cleaning step also leads to a slight problem in controlling the width of the spacers.

Method of fabricating spacers and cleaning method of post-etching and semiconductor device


An HDP-CVD process is described, including a deposition step conducted in an HDP-CVD chamber and a pre-heating step that is performed outside of the HDP-CVD chamber before the deposition step and pre-heats a wafer to a temperature higher than room temperature and required in the HDP-CVD process deposition step.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor process, and more particularly relates to a high-density-plasma CVD (HDP-CVD) process, to a filling-in process utilizing HDP-CVD, and to an HDP-CVD system applicable to the HDP-CVD process.
2. Description of Related Art
As the linewidth of integrated circuit (IC) fabricating process is much reduced, the HDP-CVD technique is widely used in depositions of various materials, especially insulating materials, due to its gap-filling capability. An HDP-CVD process has both a deposition effect and an etching effect, wherein the etching effect is largest at the gap corners so that the material is well filled in the gaps.
Moreover, to improve the quality of the deposited film, a wafer is usually pre-heated in-situ in the HDP-CVD chamber before the deposition is started. However, since plasma is generated in the pre-heating step in the HDP-CVD chamber, the wafer surface is easily damaged by the ion bombardment from the plasma.

HDP-CVD process, filling-in process utilizing HDP-CVD, and HDP-CVD system


According to one embodiment, a pattern formation method includes: forming a block copolymer layer containing a polystyrene derivative and an acrylic having 6 or more carbon atoms on a side chain in an opening of a resist layer provided on an underlayer and having the opening; forming a first layer containing the polystyrene derivative and a second layer containing the acrylic in the opening by phase-separating the block copolymer layer; and removing the second layer.

Fine patterns in various electronic devices such as semiconductor devices are formed by, for example, lithography technology. As a new lithography technology for coping with future miniaturization of patterns, there is a method in which a block copolymer in which multiple kinds of polymers are bonded is microphase-separated and the resulting matter is used to perform processing. In this method, it is important to microphase-separate the block copolymer with a desired orientation in a desired position. Furthermore, it is desired to form fine patterns at lower cost by reducing the number of processes or the like.

Pattern formation method and block copolymer


A video signal converter receives an input video signal from a host and transmits an output video signal to a detachable display module of a portable computer. The video signal converter includes a base, a latch unit and a video processing unit. The base supports the display module thereon. The latch unit engages removably the display module when the display module is supported on the base. The video signal processing unit is operable so as to convert the input video signal into the output video signal that is suitable for use by the display module.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a video signal converter, more particularly to a video signal converter for a detachable display module of a portable computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems with dual display functionality are well known. The dual display functionality permits two different sets of information to be displayed simultaneously on two computer monitors. This is useful when a user needs to compare related information such as data and graphics, or simply wants to surf different websites at the same time. One method of configuring the dual display functionality involves the use of two video graphics array adapter cards installed on a host system of a desktop computer, two computer monitors connected to the adapter cards, and software for configuring the adapter cards and the computer monitors.
Using two computer monitors can be inconvenient, however, where limited physical space is available. Furthermore, the additional computer monitor increases costs and is idle when the dual display functionality is not required.

Video signal converter for a detachable display module of a portable computer


Disclosed are electrical contact materials and a method for preparing the same. The electrical contact material includes (i) one or more kinds of metals selected from the group consisting of silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and gold (Au), and an alloy of nickel (Ni); and (ii) carbon nano tubes (CNTs) coated with Ag nanoparticles, Ag plated CNTs, or Ag nanowires, or (i) one or more kinds of metals selected from the group consisting of Ag, Cu, Ni and Au; (ii) a metal oxide that is cadmium oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide or mixture thereof; and (iii) CNTs coated with Ag nanoparticles, Ag plated CNTs, or Ag nanowires. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the content of high-priced Ag and to obtain excellent electrical and mechanical properties.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to electrical contact materials having excellent electrical and mechanical properties, and a method for preparing the same.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
Electrical contact materials are contact elements for electrical conduction, used at a portion contacted when an electric circuit is opened/closed in an electric device such as a circuit breaker or switch. The electrical contact materials are applied to motor switches, switch gears, MCBs, compact motors and lamps, automobiles, electric home appliances, and the like.
The electrical contact materials require physical properties of high melting point, excellent electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, low contact resistance, excellent welding resistance, high hardness related to abrasion resistance, small deformation of a contact surface, and the like.
The electrical contact materials may be divided into contact materials for low current (1 A or less), contact materials for intermediate current (1 to 600 A), and contact materials for high current (600 A or more). Generally, materials having excellent electrical conductivity are used as the contact materials for low current. Materials having excellent electrical conductivity, high abrasion resistance, high melting point, and the like are used as the contact materials for intermediate current. Materials having high melting point are used as the contact materials for high current.
The electrical contact materials may also divided into tungsten based contact materials, silver-oxide based contact materials, and precious metal based contact materials. Contact materials generally used among these contact materials are silver-cadmium oxide (Ag—CdO) based contact materials.
Silver (Ag) has very excellent electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, low contact resistance, and high corrosion resistance. Thus, the Ag is frequently used as a base material of electrical contacts. However, the Ag has weak abrasion resistance and impact resistance, and is expensive. Accordingly, when the Ag is used as an electrical contact material, the electrical contact material occupies about 30 to 60% of switch fabrication cost.
In order to solve this problem, an alloy of Ag and cadmium oxide (CdO) or an alloy of Ag and nickel (Ni) is used. Particularly, an Ag—CdO alloy is widely used. The Ag—CdO alloy has excellent welding resistance and attrition resistance and has relatively small temperature increasing rate in opening/closing of an electrical contact, and low contact resistance. Thus, the Ag—CdO alloy has stable thermal and electrical properties. Particularly, the Ag—CdO alloy is widely used as an electrical contact material. However, in Ag—CdO based contact materials, as oxidation progresses from the surface of the material to the interior of the material, oxide particles are coarsened, and an oxidation sparse layer is formed. Therefore, the hardness of the contact material is reduced, and the abrasion resistance of the contact material is decreased, thereby causing a trouble. CdO is a material having strong toxicity and has a problem of environmental pollution. The Ag increases the entire cost of the electrical contact material as the price of the Ag increases. Accordingly, it is possible to develop an electrical contact material capable of substituting for the Ag—CdO contact material.
Recently, an electrical contact material prepared by adding a carbon based compound to a metal has been proposed in order to improve abrasion resistance, electrical property and the like of the electrical contact material. For example, Chinese Patents Nos. 102324335, 001624175 and 001256450 have disclosed electrical contact materials including Ag powder and carbon nano tubes (CNTs). The electrical contact materials described in these documents include CNTs, thereby improving electrical characteristics of contact points. However, the electrical contact materials still have high contents of silver (Ag). Therefore, preparation cost is high, preparation processes are complicated, and the like.

Electrical contact materials and method for preparing the same

Research & Business Foundation SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIVERSITY


In the present invention, a dual hull cyclone is incorporated into a non-powered cleaning system using balls for tubular heat exchange systems. The dual hull cyclone separates balls which are smaller than a predetermined diameter so that they can be disposed of and replaced. The dual hull cyclone also serves to separate debris from fluid in the tubular heat exchange system and also debris that may have accumulated on the balls. The cleaning system in accordance with the present invention comprises a plurality of balls circulating in the fluid of the heat exchange system, a ball inlet, a ball outlet, and a dual hull cyclone. The balls in the fluid are generally of a predetermined diameter suitable for cleaning the tubes in the heat exchange unit. While the balls may be made of a variety of elastomeric materials, almost any resilient material may be utilized. Furthermore, the balls used in the present invention utilize a asymmetrical weighted core to increase the specific gravity of the balls.

Tubular heat exchange systems are used throughout different industries and examples of which are condensers of turbines, refrigeration units, heat exchangers in gas cooling systems and scrubbing systems. They are also used in power plants, desalination modules and petrochemical industries. These tubular heat exchange systems typically use a fluid circulating through several tubes bundled together for the heat exchange. The operations of such heat exchange systems are well-known in the art and will not be discussed in detail.
Invariably, maintenance of these tubes is necessary for efficient heat exchange. Debris and fouling deposits as a result of precipitation, corrosion, crystallization and chemical reactions within the tubular heat exchange systems can clog up the tubes. Traditional methods of cleaning these tubes require the shutting down of the heat exchange system, taking it off-line and physically flushing the individual tubes.
New cleaning systems have been developed using elastomeric balls in the fluid circulating in the tubes of the heat exchange system. A number of balls circulating in the heat exchange system will result in the balls passing through at least a certain number of the tubes. As the balls pass through the tubes, any fouling deposits or debris in the tubes are often pushed out. This new cleaning method has proven to be relatively effective in reducing the frequency of shutting down the heat exchange system for maintenance. Such systems have become well-known and an example of which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,990.
In such tube cleaning systems using circulating balls, a means for separating the balls from the heat exchange system is essential. The elastomeric balls are worn out after a certain period of time and the cleaning efficiency may be decreased as the balls are too small to effectively remove fouling deposits from the tubes. The worn-out balls need to be collected and separated from the heat exchange system so that new balls may be introduced. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,990, a ball collector housing is used to collect the balls and separate them from the fluid, omitting a separate reservoir for introducing balls into the system. However, it is an all-or-nothing approach as even balls that are not worn-out are also collected and disposed of.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,662, a ball separator is used to classify the balls according to different predetermined sizes by using openings bounded by crests of parallel rails. The separated worn-out balls are then collected in a basket for removal. While only the worn-out balls are separated from the fluid, use of a drive pump is required to provide sufficient pressure such that the balls can be forced through the ball separator.
At present, there is still a lack of a non-powered cleaning system using balls for cleaning tubes in heat exchange system with an efficient and effective means for separating worn-out balls from the fluid.

System and apparatus for non-powered cleaning of tubular heat exchange systems


A light flux diameter-expanding element (pupil expanding element) which is used in a retina scanning type display apparatus includes a first diffraction grating having a grating pattern extending in a first direction X, a second diffraction grating, a third diffraction grating, and a fourth diffraction grating, and expands a diameter of the incident light flux in a second direction Y so as to emit the light. In addition, the light flux diameter-expanding element includes a fifth diffraction grating having a grating pattern extending in the second direction Y, a sixth diffraction grating, a seventh diffraction grating, and an eighth diffraction grating, and expands a diameter of the incident light flux in the first direction X so as to emit the light.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a light flux diameter-expanding element which expands a light flux diameter, and a display apparatus which makes light-modulated light flux be incident on the eyes of a user.
2. Related Art
In a retina scanning type display apparatus which makes light-modulated light flux be incident on the eyes of a user, a light source portion which emits light flux for displaying an image, a scanning optical system which applies the light flux emitted from the light source portion in two directions, and a light guide system which reflects the light flux applied by the scanning optical system and makes the light flux be incident on the eyes of user, are provided. In addition, in the retina scanning type display apparatus, when the light flux is small, the light flux is not incident on a pupil in a case in which a position of the pupil is changed, therefore, a defect of the image, and the like are generated. Here, a light flux diameter-expanding element (pupil expanding element) is provided in the retina scanning type display apparatus.
Meanwhile, as the light flux diameter-expanding element (pupil expanding element), a light flux diameter-expanding element has been proposed in which two diffraction gratings (first diffraction grating and second diffraction grating) face each other and diffraction angles thereof are coincident with each other by making both grating periods thereof be equal to each other (refer to JP-A-7-72422).
However, in a configuration in which the two diffraction gratings (first diffraction grating and second diffraction grating) face each other, there are problems which will be described later with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, diffraction light which is emitted in parallel to incident light flux L0 is illustrated, and emission light beams (+1-st order diffraction light, 0-th order diffraction light, and −1-st order diffraction light) emitted from a first diffraction grating 11 are emitted in parallel to each other with intervals of 3 mm therebetween as respectively −1-st order diffraction light, 0-th order diffraction light, and +1-st order diffraction light in a second diffraction grating 12, for example. For this reason, light flux L1 including the −1-st order diffraction light, the 0-th order diffraction light, and the +1-st order diffraction light emitted from the second diffraction grating 12 has a diameter of 6 mm. Accordingly, when a diameter of a pupil E1 is set to 2 mm, eyes E can see an image even when the eyes are moved in a range of total 8 mm in which each radius of 1 mm of the pupil E1 is respectively added to both sides of the diameter of 6 mm of the light flux L1. That is, since the outermost light beam is incident on the pupil E1 even when the eyes E are positioned at a position PA or a position PC, the eyes can see the image. However, in a configuration illustrated in FIG. 10, since intervals between the −1-st order diffraction light, the 0-th order diffraction light, and the +1-st order diffraction light are wide and may be respectively 3 mm, if the eyes E is positioned at a position PB between the 0-th order diffraction light and the +1-st order diffraction light, there is a problem in that the light flux L1 is not incident on the pupil E1, such that it is not possible for the eyes to see the image.

Light flux diameter-expanding element and display apparatus


A power take-off adaptor for use in a two-wheel drive vehicle equipped with automatic transmission for supporting a standard power take-off unit, thereby providing power take-off capabilities.

The present invention relates generally to a power take-off arrangement for two-wheel drive motor vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions and, more particularly, to an improved power take-off adaptor constructed for retro-fit installation into standard production drivelines.
A power take-off utilizes the powertrain of a motor vehicle to drive auxiliary mechanisms (winches, hydraulic lifts, etc.) that are either mounted on or carried by the vehicle. While most power take-off arrangements are typically associated with four-wheel drive vehicles having manual transmissions, it is also desirable to provide power take-off capabilities on two-wheel drive vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions.
Modernly, there are three types of power take-off arrangements used in association with vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. First, a belt-driven power take-off apparatus (PTO) can be mounted to the fan belt section of the vehicle's engine. Unfortunately, due to the large number of auxiliary elements commonly mounted to the engine, and the relatively small space provided within the engine compartment, attachment of a power take-off to the fan belt section of the motor vehicle is rather difficult. Alternatively, some power take-off arrangements utilize a gear fixed for rotation with the output shaft of the automatic transmission for transferring power to a power take-off unit mounted to the transmission casing. While taking power from such a take-off gear in an automatic transmission is advantageous over belt driven systems, the low production volumes typically necessitate expensive rework or modification of pre-existing automatic transmissions. Finally, it is known to couple an "adaptor" between the output shaft of the automatic transmission and the drive shaft of the motor vehicle.
One example of a conventional adaptor is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,290. Unfortunately, several designs constraints are generally associated with such adaptors which severely impact their utilization in conjunction with high-volume original equipment drivetrain components. More specifically, the automatic transmission housing must typically be reworked to accept "bolt-up" mounting of the adaptor thereto. In addition, the length of the drive shaft must be shortened to accommodate the adaptor housing. Moreover, such power take-off adaptors typically operate to only transmit drive torque from the output shaft of the automatic transmission to either of the power take-off or the vehicle drive shaft. As such, drive torque can only be transmitted to the power take-off when the motor vehicle is motionless. This is undesirable since certain power take-off applications require vehicle movement, such as snowplowing and winching. Furthermore, most conventional power take-off adaptors have no provisions for a speedometer gear or tone wheel such that mileage is accumulated while the power take-off is operated with the vehicle in a stationary condition.


A lead frame package structure with high density of lead pins arrangement is formed. The lead frame structure includes a die, a plurality of first lead pins and a plurality of second lead pins, wherein the first lead pins and the second lead pins are positioned on at least one side of the die, and are electrically connected to the die. The first lead pins and the second lead pins are selected from a group consisting of J-leads, L-leads and I-leads, and terminals of the first lead pins and terminals of the second lead pins are staggered so that the high density of lead pins arrangement is formed without risking a short circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lead frame package structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lead frame package structure with high density of lead pins arrangement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The lead frame package structure has been widely used in integrated circuit packages for a long time, resulting in its advantages of having a low cost and a high reliability. The lead frame package structure has accordingly gained a share of the market of low pin count packages.
Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a prior art lead frame package structure 10, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the prior art lead frame package structure 10 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a prior art printed circuit board 30. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the prior art lead frame package structure 10 comprises a die 12, a plurality of lead pins 14, and a die positioned area 16. Each lead pin 14 comprises an inner terminal 22 and an outer terminal 24, and the die 12 comprises a plurality of bonding pads 18 electrically connected to the corresponding inner terminals 22 of the lead pins 14. In addition, there is a sealing glue 26 solidified for sealing the die 12 and the inner terminals 22 within the package structure. The sealing glue 26 is presumed to be transparent so that the inner structure of this prior art lead frame package structure 10 could be seen. As shown in FIG. 3, each inner terminal 22 of the lead pin 14 is electrically connected to a corresponding bonding pad 32 of the prior art printed circuit board 30. More particularly, the inner terminals 22 are arranged along a straight line in the prior art lead frame package structure 10. Similarly, the outer terminals 24 and the bonding pads 32 are arranged along a straight line, wherein there is a distance 24a between every two outer terminals 24 and a distance 32a between every two bonding pads 32.
However, in order to match up to the higher density integrated circuit product, the size of package structure should decrease without decreasing the quantity of lead pins, or the quantity of lead pins should increase without increasing the size of package structure. In other words, lead frame package structures with higher densities of lead pins arrangements should be developed. The lead pins arrangement of the prior art lead frame package structure 10 is limited in its ability to increase the density of lead pins. In the prior art, as the density of lead pins 14 increases, the distance 24a between every two lead pins 14 decreases, so that the probability of cross-talk, the probability of interference, and the difficulty of manufacturing the package structure increases. Theoretically, one lead pin 14 should only be electrically connected to one corresponding bonding pad 32. However, factors such as thermal expansion, flow of the solder, and misalignment may cause the lead pins 14 to couple with each other. As a result, the short lead pins 14 reduce the performance of products.
In the prior art lead frame package structure 10, the density of lead pins 14 should increase in order to decrease the size of lead frame package structure 10 or to increase the quantity of lead pins 14. Thus, the distance 24a between each terminal 22,24 decreases as the density of lead pins 14 increases. As a result, the probability of cross-talk, the probability of interference, and the difficulty of manufacturing the package structure increases. Briefly, the prior art lead pins arrangement is a poses a restriction on the development of higher density integrated circuit products.

Lead frame package structure with high density of lead pins arrangement

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.


A computer is provided with sets of switchable resources and utilities that enable the user to select from among a number of color paradigms within which to work. These resources include different operating system support services, such as different color pickers that are respectively directed to the different paradigms. The utilities include some whose operations are integrated with application programs, and others which function on a stand-alone basis. A color personality agent requests the computer user to select a particular color paradigm with which to work. In response to the user's selection, the agent selects the appropriate resources and utilities for that paradigm, to provide full color management that is consistent with the user's designated preferences. All subsequent color-related operations are carried out in accordance with the selected paradigm, in a manner that is transparent to the user and application programs running on the computer.

The use of colors in computers to convey information, and otherwise present a pleasing user interface, is becoming more and more prevalent. Many application programs, as well as operating system software, are making increasing use of the color facilities available with computers for these purposes. Up until now, the techniques that have been employed to present color information to the user have been either specific to the application being run on the computer or hard coded into the computer's operating system. As a result, the user was required to understand how the software developer and/or computer engineer treated color, in order to fully appreciate the operation of the computer and the applications being run thereon.
For example, many programs are written to operate in a color space which employs red, green and blue (RGB) as the constituent colors, since most color monitors are based upon such a color space. To adjust colors in computers, a utility known as a color picker is often employed. The color picker might include a user interface which comprises three slider bars respectively associated with the three constituent colors. Colors are selected by adjusting the positions of the slider bars to vary the amount of each of the constituent colors in a selected color. When adjusting the colors, the user must understand how the constituent colors interact with one another to produce a particular effect. For instance, the user must know whether the colors are additive or subtractive in order to determine whether to increase or decrease the various constituent colors to achieve a desired result.
In many cases, the user does not always desire to operate in the color environment for which the computer and/or application program was designed. A fine artist, for example, primarily works with paint pigment colorants, which are upon the primary colors red, yellow and blue. Typically, the fine artist thinks about colors in terms of mixtures of pigments. Similarly, a graphic artist is most comfortable working with a color space based upon the colors cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) or with spot colors such as Pantones. Prepress operators and pressmen typically work with CMYK inks, and must take into account the interaction of ink, paper and press equipment when designing color graphics. Advertising artists, on the other hand, are most knowledgeable about watercolors or the like.
With conventional computers and application programs, each of these different types of users is forced into working in an unfamiliar color space, i.e. RGB. This is due to the fact that color spaces used for application programs are typically based on computational efficiency, rather than user preferences. It is desirable to avoid placing unnecessary constraints on the user, by providing a color experience that can be readily customized to fit a particular color industry.
In some types of computer systems, the user may be provided with an option that enables different types of color pickers to be selected. Thus, for example, when designing colors for a color palette, the user might be able to choose a color picker that operates in a CMYK color space, rather than RGB. Typically, however, this capability is only provided within the context of a specific application. If the user is working with more than one application at a time, he may be required to switch between different color paradigms as he goes from one application to the other.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide the user with the ability to select a single color paradigm at the operating system level that pervades the entire operation of the computer, thereby permitting the user to work within a consistent paradigm that is most suited to that user's experiences and environment.

System for providing switchable color paradigms in computers


An advanced static VAR (volt ampere reactive) compensator (ASVC) system for coupling with and compensating a transmission line of a power system includes an ASVC controller. A voltage-sourced inverter has an AC side coupled through a series inductance to the transmission line, and a DC side coupled to a capacitor. By monitoring the DC side voltage, two line-to-line voltages and two line currents between the series inductance and the transmission lines, the ASVC controller determines an instantaneous reactive current component of the line current. The ASVC controller adjusts the phase angle of the inverter AC output voltages to compensates the transmission line by negating the instantaneous reactive current, and thus, the undesirable instantaneous reactive power on the transmission line. A method is also disclosed of compensating the instantaneous reactive power flowing over the transmission line.

The present invention relates generally to an advanced static VAR (volt amperes reactive) compensator (ASVC) control system, and more particularly to an ASVC control system including a method and an apparatus for compensating reactive power losses of alternating current (AC) power transmission lines.
Delivering power from a power generating station to the ultimate power consumers over long transmission power lines can be very costly for an electric utility. The electric utility passes on these costs to the ultimate consumers as higher electricity bills. These costs stem from two types of power losses. The first is a real power loss in watts from heating of the power lines, often referred to as "I.sup.2 R" losses. The second loss component stems from the magnetic effects of the power flowing through the transmission lines, which are referred to as inductive and capacitive losses. These inductive and capacitive losses affect a reactive component of the power which is measured in volt-ampere-reactive (VAR) units. These reactive (VAR) losses may be compensated using a static VAR compensator to more economically transmit power to the ultimate consumers and reduce their electricity bills.
Generally, static VAR compensators are based on the concept that inverters of various types can be connected between an AC power transmission line and an energy-storage device. The energy storage device may be an inductor or a capacitor. The static VAR compensator is operated to draw a purely reactive current from the power lines at its point of connection. Typically, the static VAR compensator has an inverter with gate-controlled power switching devices, such as gate turnoff thyristors (GTO). For transmission line implementations, the volt-ampere (VA) rating of the inverter is typically far higher than the rating normally encountered for industrial inverters.
The effect of a static VAR compensator is analogous to the well-known operation of a rotating synchronous condenser or a static VAR generator using thyristor-switched capacitors. Static VAR compensators are useful for maximizing the transmitted power and improving the stability of the utility system. Apart from the complexity of the power electronics of the inverter, the operation of a static VAR compensator under balanced, steady-state conditions is essentially identical to the operation of the rotating synchronous condenser when operating under steady-state conditions. However, the dynamic behavior of a static VAR compensator is more complicated than that of the rotating synchronous condenser. Previous static VAR compensators, rotating synchronous condensers, and static VAR generators have been unable to respond to the rapidly changing conditions of a dynamic power line disturbance, and thus, have performed poorly under dynamic conditions. Furthermore, the earlier static VAR compensators have been quite expensive, in terms of both initial manufacture and operational costs.
Thus, a need exists for an improved advanced static VAR compensator control system for compensating power lines to decrease power transmission costs, which is directed toward overcoming and not susceptible to, the above limitations and disadvantages.

Advanced static var compensator control system


A device, system, and method for tracking luggage in which the transmission of wireless signals by the device is turned off and on in response to sensor data, including the detection by a barometer of a decrease in atmospheric pressure of at least 13.8 kPa; lack of reception by a GPS receiver of a GPS signal and detection by an accelerometer and magnetometer of low frequency, low amplitude vibrations; and/or reception by a Bluetooth module of GPS coordinates transmitted by another luggage tracking device.

Lost luggage is an ongoing concern of many travelers. Luggage may become lost or misdirected in connection with air travel in particular. For example, if a traveler arrives late for a flight, there may not be time for the traveler's luggage to be loaded onto the same plane as the traveler, and the luggage may then fail to reach the traveler's destination. Late-arriving luggage may also fail to be loaded on the same plane as a traveler if the plane's cargo hold lacks sufficient space or if the plane has already reached its maximum takeoff weight. In addition, luggage may be misdirected if identifying tags become torn off.
Although the rate of lost and mishandled baggage associated with air travel has declined in recent years to less than 1% of airline baggage, the owner of such lost or misdirected luggage can take little comfort in this statistic. Devices for tracking personal luggage items have therefore been developed in order to address this issue.
Typical luggage tracking devices continuously take location readings and communicate this information via GSM, WiFi, or other wireless means to networked servers. Commercial aircraft regulations generally require that these trackers cease wireless communications before an aircraft leaves an airport gate, however, as such wireless communications have the potential to interfere with aircraft electronics. There remains a need therefore for improved luggage trackers which avoid such interference.


An apparatus 1 for disposal of wastes comprises a measuring hopper 2 for measuring a charging amount of a waste to be disposed such as domestic wastes, industrial wastes or the like or a charging amount of a solid fuel such as coke, coal or the like, a charging hopper 3 for charging the waste and the solid fuel respectively measured with the measuring hopper 2, a melting furnace 4 for melting the waste charged from the charging hopper 3 at a high temperature to conduct detoxification thereof, and a charging damper 5 arranged between the charging hopper 3 and the melting furnace 4 and having a multistage sluice valve system 9 capable of charging the waste and the solid fuel charged in the charging hopper 3 into the melting furnace 4 without outflowing of a furnace gas to exterior.

Heretofore, when wastes to be treated such as domestic wastes, industrial wastes and the like are disposed in a vertical melting furnace, there is sequentially or continuously repeated an operation that the waste stored in a storage hopper is properly supplied into the melting furnace through a charging hopper to conduct melting treatment, and thereafter gases inclusive of residue are discharged from an outlet and the residue is separated by means of a cyclone separator, a bag filter or the like to emit a clean-up gas into air.
Such a melting furnace is generally a stoker fired furnace or a rotary kiln fluidized bed furnace, or is a burner-type melting furnace wherein a burner using a heavy oil or propane gas as a fuel is projected toward a furnace core to melt the charged waste.
However, the burner-type melting furnace has drawbacks that combustion cost is high because the heavy oil or propane gas is used as the fuel, and also since a melting temperature in the furnace is a moderate temperature of 300-800° C., fly ash and incinerated ash are generated in the melting furnace after the melting treatment and a large amount of harmful substances such as dioxin and the like are generated in the discharged gas. And also, as shown in FIG. 2, the waste stored in a storage hopper 17′ is supplied into a melting furnace 4′ through a charging hopper after roughly estimating a charging amount of the waste, or while catching with chucks 19′ of a chucked crane 18′ without measuring, and hence proper process controls such as adjustment of the furnace temperature and the like are not carried out, so that there is a risk that a furnace gas explodes at the charging inlet in addition to the generation of dioxin as mentioned above.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a process and an apparatus for disposal of wastes in which an amount of a solid fuel such as coke, coal, charcoal, carbide or the like charged for keeping a constant furnace temperature can be effectively reduced when wastes to be treated such as domestic wastes, industrial wastes and the like are disposed in a melting furnace.

Process and apparatus for disposal of wastes


A stamping and forming machine (10) is disclosed having a feed mechanism for incrementally feeding a strip of material (32) along a feed path and momentarily stopping the strip in proper position within tooling (20, 22) during the stamping and forming operation. The feed system includes a feed drum (36) and is arranged to move between a driving position where the feed drum (36) is in engagement with the strip of material (32) for effecting the movement thereof along the feed path and a remote position out of feeding engagement therewith. A misfeed detection and feed release mechanism is provided for moving the feed drum (36) from the driving position to the remote position upon detection of a misfeed where the strip of material (32) is displaced from the proper position. The feed drum (36) is spring loaded toward the remote position. A first sear (190) is in engagement with the feed drum so that it is held in the driving position against the urging of the spring (174). Second and third sears (216, 218) are coupled to the upper tooling module (22) and movable upon detection of a misfeed into moving engagement with the first sear (190) so that the feed drum (36) is quickly moved to its remote position.

In stamping and forming machines, a strip of stock is fed between upper and lower tooling modules that perform operations on the strip at progressive stages of the feed cycle. This requires that the strip be accurately positioned at each stage. Pilot holes or notches are usually cut in the strip in the first stage of operation that are then used in subsequent stages to accurately align the strip. Should the strip misfeed and the machine continue to run, severe damage can occur to the tooling in the upper and lower tooling modules and the machine itself may be damaged. Various devices have been developed to detect strips that are misfed, including optical and mechanical. Once a misfeed is detected, a clutch in the drive unit is deactivated and a brake engaged. With relatively slow machines, up to the 1400 strokes per minute range, this procedure is adequate, allowing the machine to come to a complete halt in less than 180 degrees of rotation without substantial risk of damage to the tooling or the machine. In the case of a high speed machine, on the other hand, operating at about 3000 strokes per minute or higher, the machine may not be able to be stopped in time to avoid damage once a misfeed is detected. Other devices that have been developed to cope with this problem mechanically disconnect the feed system so that, as the machine is coasting to a stop, the problem is not further aggravated by the feed system continuing to feed stock into the tooling. However, such feed release systems react too slowly for reliable use with a stamping and forming machine operating at high speed. Since machines with clutch and brake drives are not able to stop within 180 degrees of rotation, it is desirable to at least stop the strip feed. However, feed mechanisms are mechanically coupled to the press drive and cannot be quickly stopped when the press is operating at 3000 or more cycles per minute.
What is needed is a feed mechanism having a release system for use in a high speed stamping and forming machine that, upon detection of a misfeed, will reliably disengage the feed mechanism within one half of a single ram stroke cycle.

Feed system in a stamping and forming machine having a quick release


The complication of a pattern of each macro block is predetermined by feed-forward. When a macro block is determined as a complicate pattern, a particular value is added to a quantizing step width and thereby the quantizing step width is increased. Since the quantizing step width of macro blocks of complicate patterns is increased, the amount of data which is generated for macro blocks of non-complicate patterns is increased. Thus, excessive bits which are generated due to suppression of the amount of data for macro blocks of complicate patterns are assigned to those of non-complicate patterns.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a highly efficient encoding apparatus, in particular, relates to a highly efficient encoding apparatus suitable for compressing data of a video signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thus far a variety of highly efficient encoding apparatuses for compressing data of a video signal have been proposed. For example, a highly efficient encoding apparatus proposed by the patent applicant as Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. SHO 62-92620 discloses a technique for adaptively quantizing data of pictures.
MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) has recommended a data compression system with respect to moving pictures. In this recommendation, one frame picture is constructed of 240 lines in the vertical scanning direction, each line being constructed of 352 picture elements, each frame being divided into macro blocks MB constructed of 16 picture elements .times.16 picture elements. Thus, one frame picture is constructed of 22 macro blocks MB in the horizontal scanning direction and 15 macro blocks MB in the vertical scanning direction.
FIG. 1 shows a circuit construction of a highly efficient encoding apparatus using DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform).
A video signal SV is supplied to an A/D converter 81 through a terminal 80. The A/D converter 81 converts the video signal SV into video data DV. The video data DV is supplied to a frame buffer 82.
An address generator 83 forms a write address ADW. The write address ADW is supplied to the frame buffer 82.
The video data DV is written to the frame buffer 82 in accordance with the above mentioned write address ADW. With respect to the video data Dv written to the frame buffer 82, each frame is constructed of 240 lines (that is, 240 picture elements) in the vertical scanning direction, one line being constructed of 352 picture elements.
The address generator 83 forms a read address ADR. The read address ADR is supplied to the frame buffer 82.
The frame buffer 82 reads the video data DV in accordance with the above mentioned read address ADR The video data Dv is read from the frame buffer 82 macro block MB by macro block MB, which is constructed of 16 picture elements .times.16 picture elements. The video data DV which is read macro block MB by macro block MB is supplied to a data generation circuit 84.
The data generation circuit 84 divides each macro block MB into blocks constructed of eight picture elements .times.eight picture elements. Thus, one macro block MB is divided into four blocks.
After video data DV is DCT-processed block by block, it is quantized and converted into a code with a variable length. Thereby, data is compressed and new video data DV0 is formed. After the video data Dv0 is written to a buffer memory 85, it is read in succession. Thereafter, the video data DV0 is supplied or transmitted to the following circuit through a terminal 87.
A control circuit 86 monitors the capacity of write enable areas of the buffer memory 85 so as to prevent the buffer memory 85 from being overflown with video data DV. This is done to control a data generation parameter frame by frame or multiple frames by multiple frames (for example, 15 frames by 15 frames) so that the amount of data which is generated nearly becomes a constant value because a macro block MB of a non-complicate pattern does not generate a large amount of data, while that of a complicate pattern generates a large amount of data. As an example of the method for monitoring the capacity of the write enable areas, a value of a write address counter and a value of a read address counter in the buffer memory 85 are used. The buffer memory 85, the control circuit 86, and the data generation circuit 84 construct a feed-back loop.
The prior art shown in FIG. 1 had the following problems.
(1) When a picture has partially a complicate pattern, for example, a portion with many edges, the portion causes a large amount of data to be generated. In this case, the feed-back loop constructed of the buffer memory 85, the control circuit 86, and the data generation circuit 84 operates and the control is performed to decrease the amount of data which is generated. However, since the feed-back loop has a delay, when a simple pattern following a complicate pattern is controlled as mentioned above, the picture quality is deteriorated.
(2) Since the control by the feed-back loop constructed of the buffer memory 85, the control circuit 86, and the data generation circuit 84 is always accompanied by a delay, when a large amount of data is abruptly generated as in the case of the above mentioned portion with a complicate pattern, the buffer memory 85 is inevitably overflown.