Urea is synthesized from ammonia and carbon dioxide at increased pressure and elevated temperature. The unconverted starting components are separated and recycled to the synthesis stage and the resulting urea solution is vacuum thickened. The liquor vapor resulting from the vacuum-thickening is condensed under a pressure of from 0.04 to 0.90 ata by means of indirect cooling water, followed by contacting the uncondensed liquor vapor with an aqueous solution of the unconverted starting feed at a temperature of from 10.degree. to 60.degree. C. and pressure of from 1.5 to 18 ata for subsequent absorption condensation. The process according to the present invention makes it possible to reduce the rate of consumption of steam (per ton of urea) by 0.1-0.25 t/t and the rate of consumption of the cooling return water by 6 to 14 m.sup.3 /t.

Known in the art are more than 50 principally different ways for the production of urea, though in commercial processes for the production of urea the following reaction is mainly used: EQU 2NH.sub.3 +CO.sub.2 .revreaction.NH.sub.4 CO.sub.2 NH.sub.2 .revreaction.CO(NH.sub.2).sub.2 +H.sub.2 O
The processes enjoying the most extensive application in the production of urea throughout the world are exemplified by the "Stamicarbon" process (Holland) and the "Mitsui Toatsu" process (Japan).
In the "Stamicarbon" process (cf. French Patent No. 1,184,991; British Patent No. 819,030 or "Nitrogen", 1959, May No. 2, pp. 25-27; Chemical Processing, 1962, v. 25, No. 16 pp. 19-23), liquid ammonia is fed through a pre-heating unit and carbon dioxide, by means of a compressor to a unit for the synthesis of urea. A recycled solution of carbon-ammonium salts (CAS) is pumped into the same unit, the molar ratio between the components in the starting reaction mixture being NH.sub.3 :CO.sub.2 :H.sub.2 O=4.5:1:0.5. The temperature in the mixer is 175.degree. C., in the synthesis column-190.degree. C.; the pressure in the synthesis unit is 200 ata.
The melt from the synthesis column containing 35-38% of NH.sub.3, 10-12% of CO.sub.2, 28 to 35% of CO(NH.sub.2).sub.2 and 19-23% of H.sub.2 O is throttled to 18 ata and delivered to the first step distillation unit consisting of a rectification column, preheater and a separator. In this unit the principal portion (about 90%) of the unreacted ammonia and carbon dioxide is separated from the solution of urea due to reduction of pressure from 200 to 18 ata and heating of the melt to 163.degree. C.
The gases from the first step distillation are fed at a temperature of 120.degree.-125.degree. C. to a washing column, whereinto a solution of CAS is also fed from the second step distillation along with ammonia liquor and liquid ammonia. In this column condensation of water vapor occurs at 92.degree.-96.degree. C. and adsorption of the major amount of carbon dioxide from the distillation gases with the formation of a recycled solution of CAS containing 38 to 45% NH.sub.3, 30 to 37% CO.sub.2 and 22-27% H.sub.2 O. The ammonia vapor purified from carbon dioxide is fed to a condenser, wherefrom a portion of liquid ammonia is fed to spraying in the washing column, while the remaining ammonia is recycled to the synthesis.
The condensed ammonia along with the gases inert to the synthesis of urea is fed to a scrubber sprayed by the liquor steam condensate. The ammonia liquor produced here is used for spraying the washing column and the gas is throttled to atmospheric pressure and vented to the atmosphere through the tailing absorber.
After the first step distillation the synthesis-melt of urea containing 8-11% of NH.sub.3, 1.5 to 2.5% of CO.sub.2, 55-60% of CO(NH.sub.2).sub.2, 28-35% of H.sub.2 O is throttled to a pressure of 2.5-4.0 ata and passed to the second step distillation unit consisting of a rectification column, preheater and a separator.
In this unit the remaining portion of ammonia and carbon dioxide is distilled from the melt at 140.degree.-142.degree. C. The gases resulting from this second step distillation are fed to a condenser-absorber sprayed by the liquor vapor condensate. Here a solution of CAS is formed containing 33-50% NH.sub.3, 10-16% CO.sub.2, 35-55% H.sub.2 O. This solution is then pumped to the washing column.
The unabsorbed gases from the second step distillation unit are fed to an absorber sprayed by the liquor vapor condensate and a solution of ammonia and carbon dioxide circulated through the cooler. Other ammonia-containing gas streams are also fed to this absorber. The absorption heat is removed by means of a cooler. A portion of a weak solution of CAS formed in the absorber is continuously removed through a boiler to a desorber, whereinto live steam is also fed. The temperature in the bottom section of the desorber is maintained at 135.degree.-145.degree. C., pressure is 3 to 4 ata. The gas stream from the desorber (containing 45-60% NH.sub.3, 5-10% CO.sub.2 and 35-45% H.sub.2 O) is fed to the second step distillation condenser-absorber. The cooled water after the desorber is drained to a sewage system.
After the second step distillation the solution (containing 0.8-2.0% NH.sub.3, 0.2-0.5% CO.sub.2, 64-72% CO(NH.sub.2).sub.2, 26-36% H.sub.2 O) is throttled to a residual pressure of 300 mm Hg and fed into a vacuum evaporator for pre-evaporation. In this apparatus the solution temperature is reduced, due to partial evaporation of water, to 95.degree. C., while the content of urea is incrased to 74%. Then a two-step evaporation of the solution is effected. In the first step, the solution is evaporated to 93-95% under a residual pressure of 300 mm Hg and the temperature of 125.degree. C.; in a second step the residual pressure is 20-50 mm Hg and temperature 138.degree. C., whereby the content of urea is increased to 99.7-99.8%. Vacuum is ensured, as a rule, by means of a system of condensers and steam-ejection pumps. The liquor vapor condensate is treated in the above-described system of absorption-desorption.
The melt of urea after evaporation is dispersed into drops and atomized in a granulation tower. Cooling of the resulting granules is effected by air sucked through the granulation tower by ventilators. The granulated product is passed through a classifier (sifter), wherein the nonstandard granules are screened-off, then fed to a dissolving apparatus, wherefrom the resulting solution of urea is delivered to the evaporation stage. The commercial product is delivered to storage or to a consumer.
One of the most essential disadvantages of this prior art process resides in the necessity of using steam at a pressure of about 10 ata as a power stream in vacuum-ejection units, as well as cooling water necessary for its condensation. Furthermore, it should be also noted that a portion of the vapor-gas stream remaining uncondensed after completion of the liquor vapor condensation due to an indirect heat-exchange with the cooling return water contains impurities of ammonia, carbon dioxide and urea which may be present in the gas phase both as vapors and as mist. This vapour-gas mixture is then contacted with the power steam-working stream in an ejector intended for ensuring vacuum in the zone of thicknening of the urea solution. As a result, there contamination of the power steam with ammonia, carbon dioxide and urea occurs. The power steam condensate containing these impurities is added to the liquor vapor condensate and then subjected to separation to purified waste waters removed from the system and a stream of ammonia, carbon dioxide and urea recycled to the process. Due to the power steam condensate the amount of waste waters is increased by 20 to 50%. It is clear that the greater the amount of waste water, the greater the load and rates of power consumption at the purification stage.
Also known in the art is a process for the production of urea belonging to "Mitsui Toatsu", a Japanese company. (Cf. U.S. Pat. No. 3,317,601, British Patent No. 1,047,954, FRG Patent No. 1,299,295 and French Patent No. 1,381,931). This process comprises feeding, into a reactor, gaseous carbon dioxide, liquid ammonia and a recycled solution of CAS and urea. The molar ratio between the components in the starting reaction mixture NH.sub.3 :CO.sub.2 :H.sub.2 O=(3.7-4.5):1:0.4. The synthesis is conducted under a pressure of from 220 to 230 atm and at a temperature within the range of from 180.degree. to 195.degree. C. The temperature control in the reactor is effected by heating of ammonia. The degree of conversion of carbon dioxide to urea amounts to 50-67%.
The synthesis melt of urea from the reactor is fed to a three stage distillation. In the first stage the operation pressure of 18 ata and temperature of 155.degree. C. are maintained, at the second stage--pressure 3 ata and temperature 130.degree., at the third stage pressure is 0.3 ata and temperature is 115.degree. C. The gases from the first stage distillation are admitted to a high-pressure absorber, wherein the formation of a recycled solution of CAS and washing of ammonia vapors from contaminating carbon dioxide are effected. Ammonia is further condensed and a portion thereof is used to spray the absorber, while the major amount of ammonia is recycled to the synthesis. Temperature conditions in the absorber (100.degree. C. in the bottom section and 50.degree. C. in the top section) are ensured by means of a heat-exchanger through which a solution from the vacuum crystallyzer is recycled and due to the supply, to spraying in the absorber, of liquid ammonia and ammonium liquor resulting from washing of the inert gases remaining after condensation of ammonia.
The gases from the second stage of distillation are fed to a low-pressure absorber, wherein water vapors are condensed at a temperature of 50.degree. C. and ammonia and carbon dioxide are absorbed with the formation of a solution of CAS and urea which are then fed to spraying of the high-pressure absorber. The gases from the third stage distillation are washed with the mother liquor obtained after separation of urea crystals in a centrifuge, in a cooler-absorber, wherefrom the solution of CAS and urea is fed to spraying of the low-pressure absorber.
After the third stage of distillation the solution containing 70% urea is fed to a vacuum-crystallizer, wherein evaporation of the solution and crystallization of urea are effected under a residual pressure of 60-70 mm Hg and temperature of about 60.degree. C. The slurry is thickened in a decanter and; the clarified mother liquor is recycled to the vacuum crystallizer by means of a pump through the heat-exchanger of the high-pressure absorber. Vacuum in the crystallization unit is maintained by means of a system of condensers and steam-ejector units.
Urea crystals are partly dehydrated in a centrifuge, dried to a moisture content of 0.2-0.3% and fed to a melting unit positioned over the granulation tower. The molten urea is pulverized across the tower, wherein the granules are air-cooled first to 80.degree.-90.degree. C. and then to a lower temperature in the bottom section of the tower. The granulate is screened and the final product is delivered to storage.
An embodiment of the process for producing urea according to patents to "Mitsui Toatsu" (cf. FRG Patent No. 1,668,856, 1973; French Patent No. 2,099,882, 1972) resides in that said vacuum thickening of the solution of urea is conducted in two steps, namely: by evaporation and crystallization at a temperature below the melting point of urea to form a slurry, where from the residual moisture is removed by heating at a temperature above the melting point.
In order to create a vacuum at the stage of thickening of the solution of urea in both embodiments of the above-discussed process of "Mitsui Toatsu", as well in the "Stamicarbon" process, a system of condensers and steam-ejection units is required, the "Mitsui Toatsu" process possesses the same disadvantages which were mentioned above as characteristic of the "Stamicarbon" process.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simpler process for the production of urea which would make it possible to lower power consumption.
The object of the present invention is accomplished in a process for producing urea which comprises:
(a) synthesis of urea from ammonia and carbon dioxide under a pressure of from 140 to 400 ata and at a temperature within the range of from 160.degree. to 230.degree. C.; PA0 (b) separation of the resulting aqueous solution of urea from the ammonia and carbon dioxide not converted to the desired product; PA0 (c) separation of liquid or gaseous streams of ammonia and carbon dioxide from the gases which are inert with respect to the synthesis of urea and purified waste water withdrawn from the process; PA0 (d) recirculation of said liquid or gaseous streams of ammonia and carbon dioxide to the stage of the synthesis of the desired product; PA0 (e) vacuum-thickening the resulting solution of urea under a pressure of from 0.04 to 0.90 ata with the recovery of dehydrated urea in the condensed phase and a mixture of water, ammonia and carbon dioxide in the vapor phase; PA0 (f) converting the dehydrated urea into solid particles and cooling in a current of air; PA0 (g) water washing urea dust from the air from the stage of converting the dehydrated urea into solid particles and their cooling to give an aqueous solution of urea recycled to said stage of vacuum thickening; PA0 (h) condensation of the mixture of water, ammonia, carbon dioxide and urea from the vapor phase resulting from the stage of vacuum thickening due to its indirect cooling with the formation of a liquor vapor condensate; PA0 (i) supplying the condensate of the liquor vapor to the stage of recovery to gases inert with respect of the synthesis of urea and purified waste water; PA0 (j) supplying ammonia and carbon dioxide contained in the uncondensed portion of the vapor phase from the stage of vacuum thickening after said indirect cooling to the stage of separation of the gases inert with respect to the synthesis of urea and purified waste water, wherein in accordance with the present invention the non-condensed portion of the vapor phase from the stage of vacuum thickening after said indirect cooling is subjected to absorption condensation under a pressure at which said vapor phase is delivered to the stage of absorption-condensation, said absorption-condensation being effected by way of direct contact of said vapor phase with a cooling agent-absorbent having a temperature within the range of from 10.degree. to 60.degree. C., pressure of from 1.5 to 18 ata and containing dissolved in water 0.2 to 3.4% by weight of ammonia, 0 to 1.0% by weight of carbon dioxide and 0 to 50% by weight of urea, whereafter at least a portion of the resulting solution is fed to the stage of separation of the gases inert with respect to the synthesis of urea and purified waste water or to the stage of separating of the aqueous solution of urea from the ammonia and carbon dioxide not converted to the desired product, or to the stage of vacuum thickening of the solution of urea.
An embodiment of the process according to the present invention is that said adsorption-condensation is effected using said liquor vapor condensate as a cooling agent-absorbent.
Another embodiment of the present invention is that as the cooling agent-absorbent, use is made of waste waters purified from contaminating urea under a pressure of from 16 to 18 ata in the stage of separation of the gases which are inert with respect to the synthesis of urea and purified waste water.
Still another embodiment of the process according to the present invention is that as the cooling agent-absorbent, use is made of a solution of urea resulting from water washing of urea dust from the air from the stage of converting the dehydrated urea into solid particles and cooling, and/or a solution of urea resulting from separating of the aqueous solution of urea from the ammonia and carbon dioxide not converted to the desired product.
The process according to the present invention makes it possible to avoid supplying power steam to the zone of contacting with the vapor-gas stream remaining after completion of the liquor vapor condensation due to an indirect cooling. As a result, the rate of consumption of steam and return water (necessary for steam condensation) is reduced. Furthermore, owing to contacting, in the absorber-condenser, of the vapor-gas stream (remaining after completion of the liquor vapour condensation by indirect cooling) with the aqueous absorbent (for example, with the cooled liquor vapor condensate) there occurs a substantially complete absorption-condensation of ammonia, carbon dioxide and urea contained in said vapor-gas stream. In doing so, in contrast to the prior art processes, as a result of recuperation of said impurities there is no any additional formation of waste waters; i.e. the total amount of waste waters from the plant of urea production is reduced. Due to the lowered amount of waste waters, the power consumption for their treatment is reduced, the degree of purification is increased along with reduced losses of the starting materials and the desired product.
Vacuum in the zone of thickening of the solution of urea is maintained, according to the present invention, by absorption-condensation of the vapor-gas stream remaining after completion of the liquor vapor condensation by an indirect cooling upon contacting with the aqueous absorbent, as well as due to utilization of the potential energy of the aqueous absorbent stream taken-off at the point of the process flowsheet, where the pressure of this stream is above atmospheric. When it is required to increase the pressure of the aqueous absorbent stream by 2-3 ata by means of a pump (taking into account the fact that liquids are substantially non-compressible media), the electric power consumption (for operation of the pump motor) is rather low and costs of electric power are generally smaller than those of steam.
The practical application of the process according to the present invention eventually makes it possible to lower the steam consumption rate (per ton of urea) by 0.1-0.25 ton/ton and the consumption rate of return water-by 6-14 m.sup.3 /ton.


Large fan-in logical gate circuits for use in reciprocal quantum logic (RQL) systems and related methods permit for improved efficiency and density of RQL logic. A majority 3-of-5 gate circuit, as described, can be extended to include more than five inputs, and can also be modified to create AND gates, OR gates, and OA gates. The gate circuits can accommodate inputs and provide outputs each in the form of single flux quantum (SFQ) pulses, either positive or negative, to indicate asserted and de-asserted logic states, respectively.

In the field of digital logic, extensive use is made of well known and highly developed complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. As CMOS has begun to approach maturity as a technology, there is an interest in alternatives that may lead to higher performance in terms of speed, power dissipation computational density, interconnect bandwidth, and the like. An alternative to CMOS technology comprises superconductor based single flux quantum circuitry, utilizing superconducting Josephson junctions (JJs), with typical signal power of around 4 nanowatts (nW), at a typical data rate of 20 gigabits per second (Gb/s) or greater, and operating temperatures of around 4 kelvins.
"Fan-in" describes the number of inputs a logic gate can handle. The larger the fan-in, the more inputs can be handled by the gate. Logic gates with higher fan-in can be employed in digital logic design to reduce the depth of a logic circuit, improving circuit efficiency and density. A majority gate is a logical gate that returns true if and only if more than 50% of its inputs are true.


An energy effective switching power supply apparatus and an energy effective method thereof. The energy effective switching power supply apparatus includes a power transforming part having first and second coils to induce a voltage to the second coil using interactions between the first and the second coils with respect to the input voltage, a power outputting part to output a sensing signal when it is determined that a first DC voltage output by rectifying and smoothing the voltage induced to the second coil is greater than or equal to a reference voltage level, and a switching controlling part to adjust a switching frequency of a switching device to interrupt a current flowing in the first coil of the power transforming part when the sensing signal is received. Accordingly, a switching loss is controlled and an energy loss is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an energy effective switching power supply apparatus and an energy effective method thereof. More particularly, the present general inventive concept relates to an energy effective switching power supply apparatus and an energy effective method thereof that saves energy by improving power efficiencies of an SMPS (Switching Mode Power Supply) used as a switching power apparatus in electronics appliances.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an SMPS (Switching Mode Power Supply) is used as a switching power supply apparatus in an image forming apparatus, such as a printer. The SMPS refers to an apparatus that rectifies an AC (alternating current) voltage externally input and supplies the rectified voltage to each part of an electronics appliance.
The SMPS reduces power loss by having a switching device operating in a switching mode to reduce power loss, and is compact-sized by use of a high frequency power transformer. The SMPS is designed to simultaneously output DC voltages (Direct current) having different amplitudes. For example, it is possible to simultaneously output DC voltages of 3.3V or 5V supplied to a main power supply in a printer, and a DC voltage of 24V supplied to a HVPS (High Voltage Power Supply) and a printing engine part.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional switching power supply apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 1, the switching power supply apparatus includes an external power inputting part 10, a rectifying part 20, a switching controlling part 30, a power transforming part 40, a first power outputting part 50, a second power outputting part 60, and a feedback circuit part 70.
The external power inputting part 10 receives an AC power from an external power supply (not shown) as an input. The rectifying part 20 rectifies the input AC power using a bridge diode (not shown) and a capacitor (not shown), and outputs a DC power. The DC power output from the rectifying part 20 is supplied to a first coil of a power transformer of the power transforming part 40, and the power transforming part 40 induces a voltage to a second coil by interactions between the first coil and the second coil.
The switching controlling part 30 interrupts electric current flowing in the first coil of the power transforming part 40 and controls the voltage induced to the second coil of the power transforming part 40. The voltage induced to the second coil of the power transforming part 40 is rectified and smoothed by a first power outputting part 50 and a second power outputting part 60, respectively. The first power outputting part 50 outputs a first DC voltage Va as a first output voltage, and the second power outputting part 60 outputs a second DC voltage Vb as a second output voltage.
The switching controlling part 30 has a PWM-IC (Pulse Width Modulation-integrated Circuit) 35, and the PWM-IC 35 is connected to the first coil of the power transforming part 40 through a transistor TR1. An OUT terminal of the PWM-IC 35 turns on/off the transistor TR1, interrupts the current flowing in the first coil and controls the voltage induced to the second coil of the power transforming part 40.
A diode D1, a resistance R1, and a first capacitor C1 rectify and smooth a current flowing in an auxiliary coil of the power transforming part 40 and supply an operating power to a Vcc terminal of the PWM-IC 35. A switching frequency is determined with respect to the transistor TR1 output to the OUT terminal by a capacitance of a second capacitor C2 connected to a CT terminal of the PWM-IC 35.
The feedback circuit part 70 senses the second output voltage of the second power outputting part 60 and transmits a feedback signal to an FB terminal of the PWM-IC 35. An operation of the PWM-IC 35 is determined according to the transmitted feedback signal. That is, when the second output voltage of the second power outputting part 60 is higher than a reference voltage, the feedback circuit part 70 transmits a feedback signal instructing the PWM-IC 35 to stop operating.
Likewise, the conventional switching power supply apparatus switches the transistor TR1 ON or OFF at a uniform frequency all the time, regardless of changes of the first and second output voltages Va and Vb, respectively, and accordingly, a switching loss is incurred and unnecessary power consumption occurs. If an output current of the first power outputting part 50 rises, the second output voltage of the second power outputting part 60 rises by cross regulation, and an apparatus that is supplied with the second output voltage by the second power outputting part 60 may be damaged by the increase in the second output voltage.

Energy effective switching power supply apparatus and an energy effective method thereof


A fire detector provided with a warning system, a reference element and an analysis element whose impedance varies in the presence of a rise of temperature and/or radiation and/or combustion gas, said reference and analysis elements being connected in series or in parallel and constituting two adjacent arms of a Wheatstone bridge assembly. The other two arms are constituted by resistors if necessary variable while the measuring diagonal or bridge, joins, either the common connecting points of the resistors and said elements, or respectively the ends of the detector elements. This device is distinguished in that the two ends of the bridge (X and Y) are connected respectively to the two inputs of two voltage comparators (A.sub.1 and A.sub.2), mounted in parallel and in reverse, each connected to a warning system (S.sub.1, S.sub.2) so that unbalance of the bridge creates a signal at the output of one or other comparator according to the direction of unbalance and actuates the corresponding warning system to indicate, respectively, a fire or system malfunction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fire detector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous types of fire detectors or alarms exist, such as temperature rise detectors generally comprising thermistors, detectors of radiation emitted by a flame and including photoelectric cells or a brush discharge tube and smoke or combustion gas detectors. The latter are based on optical phenomena or even include at least one ionization chamber traversed by a current which varies according to the gases passing through it.
All these devices are connected electrically to a warning or alarm system controlled by a device which establishes the difference between a measured value and a reference value corresponding to a normal or tolerable level. These devices generally require a considerable consumption of current which is particularly heavy considering that they operate continuously. In addition, they are sensitive to disturbing external phenomena and use, for the ionization detectors, considerable radioactive sources.
It is an object of the invention to provide a particularly reliable and low comsumption electronic system for fire detection purposes. This is based on a comparative measurement between a measured value and a reference value.
It is another object of the invention to provide a warning system in the case of faulty operation of the fire detection device.
Other objects and advantages of the fire detector system according to the invention will be understood on reading the description which follows.

Detector for indicating a fire or detector malfunction


A manufacturing method of an image pickup apparatus includes a step of manufacturing an image pickup device chip, a step of manufacturing a wiring board having first terminals and second terminals disposed on both sides of a first primary surface with a central flexible portion intervened in between, a step of joining a heat conductive block to a second primary surface of the wiring board, a step of joining the image pickup device chip to the first terminals of the wiring board, a step of performing solder joining of core wires of a cable to the second terminals of the wiring board by conducting heat generated by a heat tool through the heat conductive block, a step of bending the wiring board, and a step of performing housing inside a frame member, and sealing with sealing resin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a semiconductor apparatus in which a semiconductor device chip is connected with a signal cable through a wiring board, the semiconductor apparatus, and an endoscope provided with the semiconductor apparatus at a distal end portion of an insertion portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image pickup apparatus provided with an image pickup device chip which is a semiconductor device chip is used by being disposed at a distal end portion of an electronic endoscope. Regarding the distal end portion of the electronic endoscope, there is an important issue of reducing a diameter thereof in order to reduce a pain on a patient.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-55570, an image pickup apparatus 101 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is disclosed. A cover glass 110, which is an optical member, or the like is joined to an image pickup device chip 120 of the image pickup apparatus 101. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, in a manufacturing step of the image pickup apparatus 101, signal cables 150 are joined with solder to a wiring board 130 in a planar state, to which the image pickup device chip 120 is joined. Then, the wiring board 130 is bent by 180 degrees as shown in FIG. 2 and thereby the image pickup apparatus 101 which is thin in diameter is manufactured.

Manufacturing method of semiconductor apparatus, semiconductor apparatus, and endoscope


A new cultivar of Rosmarinus officinalis plant named `Renzels` characterized by its unique combination of rich blue-violet flowers on a shrub that exhibits great vigor and an extremely prostrate habit.

The invention relates to a new and distinct variety of the Labiatae family which has been named Rosmarinus officinalis `Renzels` by the inventor, and more particularly to a rosemary shrub that possess a low and prostrate habit, good vigor and flowers of a rich blue-violet, and which qualities give it great value as an ornamental shrub in the landscape trade.
Certain clones of the shrub rosemary have long been in cultivation, being appreciated for their scent, flavor, hardiness and beauty. In California, it is a major market plant in the landscape trade, particularly for its drought resistance, deer resistance, good form, pleasing flowers, resistance to pests and diseases, and ease of pruning. One of the most popular clones, Rosmarinus officinalis `Prostrata`, is described as being introduced to Great Britain in 1900 (W. J. Bean; 8th Ed.). Its habit is ". . . prostrate, making a curtain over the edge of walls, attaining a height of 2 ft. and spread of 4-8' and having pale blue flowers." (Sunset Western Garden Book, 1990). The typical R.o. `Prostrata` available in the landscape trade has a flower color of RHS 92C-92D. My selection has a rich blue-violet flower with similar prostrate habits and which sets it apart from other clones of Rosemary officinalis.
Another clone, Rosemary officinalis `Collingwood Ingram` (syn: `Benendon Blue`, R. Ingramii) was introduced to Great Britain in 1933 (W. J. Bean; 8th Ed.) and is described as being a ". . . tallish bank or ground cover with high color value, 2-21/2 ft. tall and 4' or more wide, with branches that curve gracefully and with flowers of a rich, bright blue violet (Sunset Western Garden Book, 1990). A clone of R.o. `Collingwood Ingram`, reportedly a sport that exhibited a more prostrate habit, was introduced into the nursery trade. This clone, Rosmarinus officinalis `Ken Taylor`, has been generally available in the nursery trade in Northern California for the past 10 years, but is still not widely known. It has been described as having ". . . weaker branches than the original and trails more like `Prostratus` down banks and walls. The leaves are the same lustrous dark green, and the flowers are the same bright lavender blue, as the original." (Wintergreen Nursery Catalog, Watsonville, Calif., 1993). Another nursery in the Watsonville area of California describes R.o. `Ken Taylor` as being ". . . very close to `Benendon Blue`, maybe slightly lower. Dark blue flowers." (Monterey Bay Nursery Catalog, 1992). To this inventor's eye, through experience in the landscape business, R.o. `Ken Taylor` exhibits a general upright growth in the center with side branches being arching to decumbent, making in time a high centered mount with side branches that tend to arch rather than drip over walls.
The invention `Renzels` rosemary possesses a number of attributes that caused it to be selected for trail and which are believed to indicate a promising commercial life, and which attributes set it apart from other clones available in the landspace trade. This invention relates to a new and distinct selection of Rosemary officinalis by exhibiting a truly prostrate habit with flowers of a rich blue violet which retaining qualities typical of the species such as ease of propagation and cultivation, ability to grow where environmental conditions are tough, hardiness, deer resistance, resistance to pests and diseases, and ease of pruning. It is intended to market this plant under the name Trademark `Irene`.


The present invention provides methods of producing a product or product precursor of a biosynthetic pathway in a genetically modified host cell. The present invention also provides genetically modified host cells comprising nucleic acids encoding a scaffold polypeptide and nucleic acids comprising nucleotide sequences encoding two or more enzymes in a biosynthetic pathway. The present invention further provides nucleic acids comprising nucleotide sequences encoding scaffold polypeptides, for use in a subject method.

Biosynthetic pathways are engineered to produce high yields of desired products. Engineered biosynthetic pathways employ multiple enzymes, often heterologous to the expression host. The enzymes often produce metabolites foreign to the host, thus resulting in side effects such as flux imbalances, toxicity from metabolite intermediates, and/or a burden from protein overexpression. Protein expression levels may be modulated via plasmid copy numbers and promoter strengths. However, combinatorial titration of individual enzyme expression levels is experimentally tedious, especially for multi-enzyme pathways.
There is a need in the art for efficient methods of producing products of biosynthetic pathways.

Nucleic acids encoding synthetic scaffolds and host cells genetically modified with the nucleic acids

The Regents of the University of California


A clamp assembly includes a grommet with a non-circular aperture with a multiple of crush apertures defined at least partially around the non-circular aperture. A method of supporting a wiring harness within a clamp assembly for a gas turbine engine includes installing a wiring harness through a non-circular aperture with a multiple of crush apertures defined in an arc at least partially around a major axis of the non-circular aperture; and compressing the grommet to compress the multiple of crush apertures to retain the wiring harness within the non-circular aperture.

The present disclosure relates to a clamp assembly and, more particularly, to a clamp assembly for electrical wiring harnesses.
Wire harnesses are mounted at multiple locations and are routed along a gas turbine engine case structure by clamp assemblies. The clamp assemblies typically utilize rubber grommets with sheet metal brackets. The grommet is retained by bent sheet metal tabs riveted to the sheet metal bracket structure. Conventional rubber silicon grommet block clamps are effective, but may not provide an effective grip on the electrical harness during engine deflections and may eventually result in wire harness chafing.

Clamp assembly for electrical wiring harnesses


This invention relates to a system for accessing, manipulating and displaying time series from a stored collection of time series. In particular, the system permits the user to reconfigure the collection of time series by storing and separately indexing either individual time series which are generated as a result of user instigated manipulation or blocks of time series generated and/or selected by the user and for separately indexing the time series so stored so as to facilitate their accessing by the user. An index is also provided for the collection of time series which is preferably arranged in a hierarchical multilevel menu form by subject matter. This permits the user to quickly and easily locate either single time series or blocks of time series of interest. The math functions which may be performed on time series include certain moving transformations not heretofore available including moving variance, moving standard deviation and moving correlation and covariance on two or more time series. The performance of standard conversions is also facilitated by storing conversion data in the shell operating system so that such conversions can be performed in response to a simple command. The time series, both time series from the original collection and user generated time series, are graphically displayed and certain features are provided for enhancing the usefulness of such displays.

A time series is a repeated measurement, estimate, or other indication of a magnitude or other value taken generally at predetermined time intervals over an extended time frame. Examples of time series are annual population figures for a selected geographic area, the gross national product for a particular country on an annual, quarterly or monthly basis and the like.
Time series currently represent one of the largest data bases of historical and current information on economic, social, resources, environmental and political conditions, and other subjects. However, to effectively use such time series, and more particularly to turn such time series into information useful in making decisions, forming opinions, and making projections, effective techniques must be provided not only for permitting the user to quickly and easily retrieve all of the available time series relevant to his particular problem, but also for permitting the user to perform a variety of transformations and other manipulations on such time series to develop additional useful information. It is also desirable that all available time series information, both the originally stored time series and time series generated as a result of manipulations on the raw data, be present in a form which permits the user to easily perceive relationships, trends and the like in the data. While the graphic capability which now exists in most computers permits the user to more easily perceive relationships, new tools are required to permit the effective utilization of such capabilities. Further, since the user frequently does not know what he is looking for until he finds it, the system should be organized to assist the user in locating useful data. In addition, since old patterns of thought and expectations ma limit the user's ability to find what he needs or perceive useful relationships, the system should assist the user in being creative in the use of the available data to achieve his desired objectives. Thus, the system should provide guidelines for the use of the time series data, but permit the user to make all decisions in using the data. The amount of information which the user receives at each point on which to base decisions should also be limited so as to avoid user confusion from choice overload, thus making it easier for the user to make decisions. In addition, the system should preferably be free standing with all catalog entries in the system rather than in a separate written catalog. This, among other things, makes it easier for the catalog to be updated to reflect entries made by the user. It is also easier for the user to make catalog selections from an entry title shown in the context of its topics rather than merely from a code for the time series from, for example, a written catalog as is the case for some prior art systems.
Further, the user should be permitted to reconfigure the data to his requirements rather than being limited by the rigid file structure of prior art systems where new data bases for the system must be purchased to get data in a different form. Thus, once the user has collected all of the time series relevant to his problem, both originally stored time series and time series generated as a result of manipulations by the user on the original data, such information should be stored and cataloged in a manner such that it may all be retrieved quickly either as a single block or as desired time series rather than requiring the user to separately locate and to again retrieve each of the individual original time series and to either regenerate series resulting from manipulations on this data or to locate and retrieve each such generated series from the location where it was stored. Further, in order to convert the time series into useful information, it is desirable that the technique utilized be adapted to quickly and easily convert the raw data to, for example, a per capita basis or to adjust annual financial figures for inflation (i.e., express in constant dollars). Finally, additional useful information can frequently be obtained from time series by performing certain moving transformations thereon which moving transformations have not heretofore been available. Such moving transformations include, but are not limited to, moving variance or moving standard deviation on a single time series, and moving covariance or moving correlation between two or more time series.
While systems currently exist which are adapted to access, display and perform certain manipulations on time series, none exist which are capable of effectively performing the various functions indicated above.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for facilitating the retrieval of all time series in a collection of time series which are relevant to the solution of a particular problem.
Another object of this invention is to permit the retrieved time series to be transformed or otherwise manipulated, and in particular to permit certain moving transformations to be performed on such data and to facilitate the transformation of such data to a adjusted for-inflation, per capita, or other converted form.
Still another object of this invention is to permit the time series resulting from a transformation or manipulation of the original data to be separately stored and to facilitate the easy retrieval of all time series, both originally selected time series and time series generated as a result of manipulations, which time series are relevant to the solution of a particular problem.

Method and apparatus for accessing and manipulating time series


The present invention provides an electromagnetic wave shielding support base-attached encapsulant for collectively encapsulating a semiconductor device mounting surface of a substrate having semiconductor devices mounted thereon or a semiconductor device forming surface of a wafer having semiconductor devices formed thereon, the support base-attached encapsulant including a support base having an electromagnetic wave shielding property of 20 dB or more within a range of 100 MHz to 1,000 MHz, and an encapsulant composed of a thermosetting resin layer laminated on the support base. There can be provided a support base-attached encapsulant that can collectively encapsulate a semiconductor device mounting surface of a substrate having the semiconductor devices mounted thereon or a semiconductor device forming surface of a wafer having semiconductor devices formed thereon without occurrence of warping of the substrate or the wafer, peeling of the semiconductor devices from the substrate, and breakage of the wafer even in the case that a large-diameter wafer or a large-area substrate such as inorganic, organic, or metal substrate, especially thin one, is encapsulated, and that has excellent electromagnetic wave shielding property, reliability such as heat resistance and moisture resistance after encapsulating, and extremely high versatility, mass-productivity, workability, and economical efficiency.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic wave shielding support base-attached encapsulant, an encapsulated substrate having semiconductor devices mounted thereon and an encapsulated wafer having semiconductor devices formed thereon each using the encapsulant, and a semiconductor apparatus manufactured from these.
Description of the Related Art
With remarkable progress of digital technology, miniaturization and higher performance of electronic devices represented by personal computers and mobile phones have been required. For example, a printed wiring substrate, which is a representative part of these devices, has been improved toward high density mounting and miniaturization. Along with this current, an electronic device having highly integrated semiconductor parts is formed with a circuit that tends to sensitively respond to outside noise and cause malfunctions or failures. In addition, this device emits an unintended high-frequency energy outside.
As the electromagnetic wave shield that focuses on the prevention of electromagnetic noise emission to the outside of electronic/electric devices and electromagnetic noise entrance from the outside, reflective shielding materials have been conventionally used in many cases.
Accordingly, at first, electronic/electric devices had been shielded from electromagnetic noise by coating the whole housing with a conductive material or using a metal or metallic mesh cover (Patent Documents 1 to 3). After that, electromagnetic wave shielding is becoming to be applied to individual semiconductor packages. However, if the sizes of parts within the package are uneven, the sheet metal shield becomes tall because of coating the whole housing with a conductive material or using a metal or metallic mesh cover, which causes problems of occurrence of dead space and unachievable film-thinning due to the accumulation of heat, etc.
Besides, although electromagnetic wave shielding properties have been conventionally applied to individual packages, it is now required to provide electromagnetic wave shielding properties at the time of encapsulating a large-diameter wafer or a large-area substrate such as inorganic, organic, or metal substrate, in view of versatility, economical efficiency, and mass-productivity.
When a large-area substrate or a large-diameter wafer of 300 mm (12 inches) or more is encapsulated, there is a problem that the substrate or the wafer occasionally warps due to shrinkage stress of the epoxy resin or the like at the time of encapsulating and curing, and especially, the large-diameter wafer with thin thickness is liable to warp. In addition, when a semiconductor-device mounting surface of a large-area substrate having semiconductor devices mounted thereon is encapsulated, a problem arises that the semiconductor devices are peeled from the substrate by shrinkage stress of the epoxy resin or the like at the time of encapsulating and curing. Accordingly, there is a big problem that encapsulated large-area substrates and large-diameter wafers cannot be used for mass-production. Therefore, there is an attempt to encapsulate a large-diameter wafer or a large-area substrate such as organic, inorganic, or metal substrate by using a substrate-attached encapsulant in which a resin layer for use in encapsulating is formed on a substrate (Patent Documents 4 and 5).
In particular, there has been demanded a support base-attached encapsulant that can collectively encapsulate a semiconductor-device mounting surface of a substrate having the semiconductor devices mounted thereon or a semiconductor-device forming surface of a wafer having semiconductor devices formed thereon without occurrence of warping of the substrate or the wafer, peeling of the semiconductor devices from the substrate, and breakage of the wafer even in the case that thin semiconductor devices are encapsulated, and that has excellent electromagnetic wave shielding property, reliability such as heat resistance and moisture resistance after encapsulating, and extremely high versatility.

Electromagnetic wave shielding support base-attached encapsulant, encapsulated substrate having semicondutor devices mounted thereon, encapsulated wafer having semiconductor devices formed thereon, and semiconductor apparatus


An infrared detection system is disclosed in which a re-imaging optical system produces a non-axisymmetric aperture stop image at an exit pupil point in or near the cold shield entrance aperture. To achieve high cold shield efficiency notwithstanding the asymmetry of the aperture stop image and the resulting astigmatism in such image, two exit pupil stop members disposed in non-coplanar relation are provided adjacent the exit pupil point. The stop aperture in one such member has its radially extending edges congruent with the corresponding edges of the aperture stop image and is disposed in the plane of best exit pupil formation for those edges; the aperture in the other exit pupil stop member is correspondingly configured and oriented with respect to the circumferential edges of the aperture stop image.

This invention relates generally to infrared (IR) detection systems and more particularly to such systems for which application requirements necessitate the use of non-axisymmetric optics systems.
Current IR detection systems comprise focal plane arrays of sensor elements that operate at cryogenic temperatures and accordingly require array mounting in a dewar or similarly cooled enclosure. It is also necessary to provide cold shielding of the detector element array, to avoid the degradation in signal-to-noise ratio that results when the detector element fields of view include optics system structural members that are at temperatures above cryogenic. Cold shielding currently is usually accomplished using one or more of the following basic methods:
(1) Place all or part of the focusing elements inside the cold region surrounding the focal plane detectors;
(2) Extend the dewar window in front of the focal plane and thereby move the aperture in the cold shield as far as possible from the detectors;
(3) Use reflectors to produce a "Narcissus" effect over the entire field of view; and
(4) Design the focus system to place its exit pupil at the cold shield aperture.
The last of the above-listed techniques derives from the so-called "Solar Coronagraph" developed some decades ago by B. Lyot for observation of the sun's corona. This instrument comprised a re-imaging optical system with an occulting disk disposed in the plane of the first image and a stop located at the exit pupil adjacent the plane of the second image. Similar optical configurations have later been used in telescopes and other applications in which the rejection of out-of-field radiation is critically important. In such applications Lyot's occulting disc is omitted and a field stop commonly substituted, but the exit pupil stop serves its original purpose and has come to be known as a "Lyot stop".
Lyot stops have found use in infrared imaging systems, where they are particularly useful in reducing the effects of radiation emitted from uncooled walls of the system which would otherwise be included within the IR sensor element's field of view and the radiation from which would thus reduce the signal-to-noise ratio of the system. The practical application of Lyot stops for cold shielding purposes in infrared detector systems is not without some attendant problems, principal among which is that their effectivity is critically dependent on the quality of the exit pupil and as hereinafter explained this can be very difficult to control.
For best performance of IR detection systems the power elements of the system need to be corrected for image quality at the surface of the detector array. The optics cannot at the same time be fully corrected for the effects of astigmatism on the aperture stop image at the exit pupil point, and as a result the uncorrected effects of this aberration significantly degrade exit pupil formation. Then because the performance of a Lyot stop depends on a well formed exit pupil, such uncorrected aberrations at the exit pupil result in reduced cold shield efficiency.
Poor efficiency can be a significant problem even in IR detection systems in which all the mirror, lens and other elements are symmetric with respect to the system optical axis. The problem is significantly more difficult in the case of systems in which these elements are non-axisymmetric, primarily because of the larger optical aberrations that are characteristic of such systems. Thus the reduction in cold shield efficiency attributable to exit pupil anomalies is particularly troublesome in systems having relatively large aberrations due to the presence of off-axis optical elements.
Non-axisymmetric optical element configurations may be necessary to accommodate a number of different detection system requirements, most commonly a requirement that a scanning device such as a rotating or nutating mirror be positioned directly on-axis. Such a system is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,222, for example, which is also of interest because it includes a re-imaging optical system with a stop located at a pupil coincident with the cold shield aperture.
The present invention is addressed to the problem of uncorrected aberrations in infrared sensor systems of this general kind, and specifically in such systems in which the problem of astigmatism is compounded by the inclusion of non-axisymmetric optical elements. The invention has as a primary objective the provision of such systems that provide high efficiency of cold shielding notwithstanding the quality of the exit pupil even as compromised by optical system asymmetries, and that provide this improvement with relatively little attendant additional system complexity or cost.


This application relates to the functional identification and characterization of a nucleic acid molecule encoding a triterpene synthase, in particular botryococcene synthase. Also described are host cells comprising the nucleic acid molecules of this invention, proteins encoded by the nucleic acid molecules and methods for using the nucleic acid molecules, transformed hosts and encoded proteins to produce high levels of triterpene hydrocarbons.

Squalene and botryococcene are related by their putative biosynthetic origins from the condensation of two farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) molecules, and are known to be synthesized by race B, a fresh water green algae (Okada.et al., (1995). Journal Of Applied Phycology 555-559.; Metzger and Largeau (2005). Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 486-496.) Botryococcene is further modified in and becomes methylated with 1, 2, 3 or 4 additional methyl substituents catalyzed by a special triterpene methyl transferase. Botryococcene and its methylated derivatives have attracted significant attention because these molecules are thought to be the progenitors to current oil shale deposits (Summons et al., (2002) Organic Geochemistry 99-109; Walters et al., (2005) Aapg Bulletin 1239-1 244.) and because they are considered promising renewable, alternative biofuels (Banerjee et al., (2002). Critical Reviews in Biotechnology 245-279.) For example, Hillen et al. (1982) Biotechnology And Bioengineering 193-205) previously reported on the catalytic cracking of methylated botryococcenes and squalene derivatives, and observed an overall conversion of 97% of the oil to combustible fuels under standard cracking conditions. Overall, 67% of the oil was converted to gasoline grade fuel, 15% to aviation turbine fuel, and 15% to diesel fuel with a residual of only 3%. Hence, catalytic hydrolysis (as performed in standard petroleum refineries) of these highly branched, poly-unsaturated triterpenes results in the generation of hydrocarbon fractions that are chemically equivalent to those derived from current petroleum deposits and are of direct utility as fuels for internal combustion engines, as well as feedstocks for chemical manufacturing (Banerjee et al., (2002)).
Up to this time, these energy-rich triterpene oils have only been available from cultures of a rather slow growing green algae that does not lend itself to large-scale or fermentation type culturing conditions (Casadevall et al., (1985). Biotechnology and Bioengineering 286-295).

University of Kentucky Research Foundation


A ring laser gyro scale factor enhancement circuit connected between at least one power supply voltage level and a reference potential for conditioning at least a first and second input signal from a ring laser gyro assembly, the first and second input signals being essentially sinusoidal and having a common first input signal frequency, the second input signal having a predetermined first phase relationship with the first input signal for a first ring laser gyro rotational sense and a second predetermined phase relationship with the first input signal for a second ring laser gyro rotational sense. The ring laser gyro scale factor enhancement circuit comprises at least one frequency multiplier circuit responsive to the first and second sinusoidal input signals at a first signal frequency for providing at least a first and second relatively sinusoidal output signal at a higher output signal frequency, the frequency of each first and second relatively sinusoidal output signal being a multiple of the integer two raised to a positive integer power times the common first input signal frequency of the first and second input signal; whereby, the ring laser gyro output signal scale factor is enhanced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in ring laser gyroscope accuracy, and more particularly to the electronic circuitry used to process the electronic signals emanating from the ring laser gyro optical detector typically employed for use with a ring laser gyro, This invention even more particularly relates to a circuit for increasing the resolution of a ring laser gyroscope,
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ring laser gyroscopes are known in the art to produce outputs comprised of optical fringes occurring at a rate dependent upon the rate of rotation of the ring laser gyroscope in inertial space, Typically, two outputs are developed from a ring laser gyro optical detector coupled to the ring laser gyro, The ring laser gyro optical detector typically contains an excited photo diode array which when illuminated detect the optical frequency difference of clockwise and counterclockwise laser beams within the ring laser gyroscope, The photo diode array generates a two phase resolver type signal wherein one signal leads the other or lags the other by 90 degrees, depending upon the sense or direction of rotation of the ring laser gyro body in inertial space of the ring laser gyroscope.
One circuit that has been advanced includes a pulse modification circuit for each output line including a preamplifier and trigger squaring circuit together with logic circuitry to produce a first output representing clockwise pulses and a second output representing counterclockwise pulses. The output pulses produced by this apparatus tracked, one for one, the output pulses of the ring laser gyroscope; consequently, the resolution of the entire circuit was limited by the pulse output frequency developed by the ring laser gyroscope.
Another circuit that has been advanced is described in an application for U.S. Patent, titled Apparatus for Increasing the Resolution of a Laser Gyroscope, Ser. No. 457,845, filed Jan. 14, 1983, naming this same inventor and common assignee. The object of this circuit was to provide an output pulse rate at a multiple of the pulse rate developed from the frequency difference of the clockwise and counterclockwise laser beams within the gyroscope. Another object of this invention is to provide a direction signal for use in processing the output pulse signals. The output pulse signals from this invention circuit are adapted to be applied directly to an up/down counter. This circuit is constructed of digital circuit elements and as such is unlike and does not anticipate the invention ring laser scale factor enhancement circuit which depends on linear circuit elements and functions based on analog circuit principles and trigonometric identities.

Ring laser gyro scale factor enhancement circuit


The present invention features an automotive catalytic converter accessory device for improving the converter's efficiency and operational life. The accessory device has a housing disposed in the manifold exhaust pipe, upstream of the catalytic converter. The housing contains a hollow conduit that conveys the exhaust gases of the manifold to the entrance or interface of the catalytic converter. The conduit has a diffuser portion having a baffle plate disposed at the downstream end thereof, just before the converter inlet. The flow is divided into a bifurcated stream of gases that passes through the baffle plate. The outer stream of exhaust gas is caused to swirl as it passes through slots disposed at the end of the conduit ahead of the baffle plate. The major portion of the exhaust stream is caused to pass through a large central aperture in the baffle plate, along with the outer, swirling stream. This major portion of the exhaust stream maintains a substantially linear flow, thus reducing back pressure and turbulence in the overall flow. The gas entering the catalytic converter bathes the entire substrate due to both the diffusion and the swirling action of part of the exhaust flow. The outer swirling portion of the exhaust stream expands into the wider converter cavity to bathe the outer portions of the substrate. The inner, linear portion of the exhaust stream entering the converter cavity bathes the central, or inner, portion of the substrate. Thus, the entire catalytic substrate is bathed by the exhaust gases entering the converter chamber.

Current automotive catalytic converter devices comprise a multichannel substrate having flow-through channels which are coated with noble metal catalyst materials that convert the pollutant exhaust gases to harmless effluent.
The automotive catalytic converters generally comprise a large, oval-shaped ceramic substrate housed in a metal sleeve or can. The converters connect directly to a manifold exhaust pipe and normally discharge the purified gases into a muffler.
Exhaust gases entering the catalytic converter unit from the manifold exhaust pipe are usually quite specifically directed in their flow. The gas flow tends to concentrate in the middle portion of the ceramic substrate, thus substantially avoiding the outer one-third of the substrate. This is a result of the narrow exhaust pipe cross-section that feeds directly into the larger cross-sectional area of the substrate. The gases from the smaller exhaust pipe do not have a chance to radially diffuse as they enter the converter; thus, most of the exhaust gases flow down the middle of the substrate.
The result of this non-uniform bathing of the converter substrate is that, not only is the converter inefficient, but its operational life is also limited.
It is common with some catalytic converter systems that air is injected into the longitudinal mid-portion thereof in order to reduce the oxides of nitrogen emissions that are present in the exhaust gases. This procedure is also an inefficient use of converter substrate, since only a downstream portion of the substrate is provided with the oxygen-enriched effluent.
The present invention provides an apparatus at the inlet of the converter that will more uniformly bathe the substrate with exhaust gases. The apparatus is designed to provide the uniform bathing in an efficient manner, so that back pressure and turbulence in the exhaust conduit are minimized. The apparatus has a simple, integral construction, making the device inexpensive to both fabricate and install.
The subject catalytic converter accessory of this invention uses a dynamic exhaust gas mixture to bathe the catalytic converter substrate. This dynamic exhaust gas mixture comprises a bifurcated flow, comprising a substantially linear mid-portion stream, which is surrounded by an outer, diffuse, swirling stream of gases. The accessory device comprises a diffuser-shaped shell which has a barrier plate disposed in a mid-portion thereof. The device is installed at the exhaust pipe/converter interface.
The invention at hand reduces both turbulence and back pressure in the exhaust gas flow in three ways:
(1) The exhaust gases in the exhaust conduit are split into a bifurcated flow stream, in which only an outer portion of the exhaust gas stream is caused to swirl. These swirling outer gases expand into the converter chamber, bathing the outer portions of the catalytic substrate. The remaining mid-portion of the exhaust stream bathes the center of the catalytic substrate. This mid-portion comprises the major portion of the gaseous stream. It is maintained in a substantially linear flow in order to reduce turbulence and back pressure in the overall flow stream; PA1 (2) The exhaust gases are caused to diffuse prior to their bifurcation, thus allowing for a more uniform dispersion as they enter the catalytic converter interface. The diffusion of the outer flow stream portion of the exhaust gas, along with its swirling and expanding action, creates a quite effective and uniform bathing of the outer portions of the catalytic substrate; and PA1 (3) The swirling action is caused by a barrier plate disposed at the interface between the diffuser and the catalytic chamber and takes the place of an injected gas stream which is common to other such swirl-making devices. This results in lesser amounts of the turbulence and back pressure that are routinely experienced with the exhaust stream injection method.


The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for receiving or converting a radio frequency signal. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus using an electronic circuit to combine a radio frequency signal, also known as a test signal, its reference signal and a third signal which has its predetermined frequency. The combination of these three signals gives rise to a new signal. The new signal has a frequency that is solely responsive to the predetermined frequency of the third signal. It also has phase information that is responsive to that of the test signal. In addition, the new signal may also have amplitude information that is responsive to that of the test signal.

The present invention relates to a methods and apparatus for receiving radio frequency signals. More particularly, it relates to a method and apparatus for converting a radio frequency signal to a signal with a predetermined frequency without affecting its phase or amplitude measurement.
Transmission of a radio frequency signal usually requires multiple frequency conversion steps. For example, a low frequency signal is generally converted to a high frequency signal before it is transmitted by various means. After it is received, this converted high frequency signal is then down-converted to a signal of a same or similar low frequency for further processing. This approach is widely practiced in many areas, particularly in the area of telecommunication.
A radio frequency signal is a complex signal composed of several important parameters, including phase, amplitude, and frequency. One key aspect of the signal transmission process is how to preserve information concerning a signal's phase and amplitude. This is especially important when such a signal is being converted to another frequency. Over the past years, extensive research efforts have been made to minimize impact on a radio frequency signal's phase and amplitude information during the frequency conversion process.
There are a number of prior art approaches on how to preserve a radio frequency signal's phase and amplitude information while converting its frequency. Most prior art approaches employ one or multiple offset signals separately generated. These offset signals are then combined with test signals to provide signals at another frequency.
One example of these prior art approaches is a microwave receiver, herein briefly described in FIG. 1. It is generally used for the measurement of radar cross section. This microwave receiver employs a three-level frequency conversion process. It first comprises a local oscillator or similar devices which generate an offset signal. The combination of this offset signal with either a test signal or a reference signal gives rise to signals at a frequency of 2 GHz. These 2 GHz signals are then similarly converted to intermediate frequency signals at 45 MHz, which are further downconverted to a low frequency at 5.02 KHz for processing.
Another example is a network analyzer, herein briefly described in FIG. 2. It also uses local oscillators to generate offset signals. These offset signals are first combined with either a test signal or its reference signal to provide signals of an intermediate frequency at 20–27.8 MHz. These intermediate frequency signals are then converted to signals at a frequency of 278 KHz before being further processed.
In order to preserve information regarding a test signal's phase and amplitude, most prior art approaches attempt to convert a test signal, as well as its reference signal, to a precise frequency or a very narrow frequency range. But one problem is that most test signals, as well as their reference signals, are relatively unstable. In other words, their frequencies may be constantly fluctuating. This may be due to various reasons, such as limitation of signal sources or instability of power voltage.
To solve this problem, many prior art approaches employ a device called phase-locked loop (PLL), as shown in FIG. 1. One primary function of a PLL, as well as other similar devices, such as digital frequency synthesizers, is to provide a converted signal that maintains a constant phase angle relative to a reference signal just like the original, unconverted signal. The underlying mechanism is to control the offset signal's frequency so that it is constantly adjusted according to variations of a test signal's frequency. In this way, a test signal, as well as its reference signal, may be converted to a particular frequency or a narrow frequency range without affecting measurements of its phase and amplitude. Other approaches, as shown in FIG. 2, also employ devices, such as pass band filter, to facilitate this process so that only signals within a narrow frequency range may pass through.
The use of these devices, however, gives rise to several problems. First of all, because of their reliance on these devices, most prior art approaches either are incapable of handling signals with a wide frequency range, or they lack sensitivity, dynamic range or frequency agility generally required for measuring a radio frequency signal with precision. Meanwhile, the use of these devices inevitably increases systematic errors which may eventually affect the accuracy of measurements. Finally, most of these devices are complicated and expensive.

Method and apparatus for receiving radio frequency signals


A reaction turbine includes. (a) first nozzle means to receive heated fluid for expansion therein to form a two-phase discharge of gas and liquid, PA1 (b) a separator rotor having an axis and a rotating surface located in the path of said discharge for supporting a layer of separated liquid on said surface, PA1 (c) the rotor having reaction nozzle means to communicate with said layer to receive liquid therefrom for discharge in a direction or directions developing torque acting to rotate the rotor.

This invention relates generally to a new class of heat engines wherein the working fluid, as for example water and steam, is employed to produce work while the fluid exists in its two-phase regions, with vapor and liquid existing simultaneously for at least part of the work cycle, typically the nozzle expansion. More specifically, the invention is useful in those applications where relatively lower speeds and higher torques are required, as in prime movers to drive electrical generators or gas compressors, and engines for marine and land propulsion. Also, the achievable high efficiency makes the invention useful to improve the expansion processes of vapor/liquid refrigeration.
The present invention is related to existing two-phase engines as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,879,949 and 3,972,195. As described therein, a two-phase mixture is accelerated in a nozzle, and after exiting from the nozzle the mixture is directed toward a rotary separator, where the two phases (liquid and gas) are separated in a high gravity field established by the rotary separator. The latter is also rotated to produce torque output.


A modular electrical power cord system that finds particular utility for use in truck engines having at least two engine block heaters. A primary cord is used with one of a plurality of different jumper cords whose length most closely matches the distance between the heaters.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to electrical wiring and, more particularly, to power cords of the type that can supply energy to devices such as engine block heaters.
2. Discussion
Two or more engine block heaters are often used in truck engines to elevate temperatures of fluids in the engine during cold weather. Sometimes only one heater is used but it is usually wired in series with a thermostat that automatically regulates the on/off cycle of the heater. In either event, power must be supplied to the devices.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional prior art technique for supplying electrical power to a pair of such devices. A Y-shaped power cord 10 includes an electrical plug 12 at one end of a pair of wiring cables 14 and 16. The opposite ends of cables 14 and 16 include female connectors 18 and 20, respectively. Connectors 18 and 20, in turn, are connected to engine block heaters 22 and 24, respectively, and supply electrical power to them.
While these so-called "Y-cords" have generally proved satisfactory, they have caused some economic problems to the cord manufacturer and, to a lesser extent, to the truck fleet owner or manufacturer who may own or make a variety of different trucks. This is because the spacing between heaters on one engine is often different from the spacing of the heaters on another type of engine. The distance to the electrical outlet may also differ from chassis to chassis. It is, of course, imperative that the power cord be long enough to reach each heater but it is also preferable to avoid any excess length in the cord. If the cord is longer than needed this can result in excess power loss from the energy source, not to mention the cumbersomeness of having to deal with excessive lengths of cable lying around.
In an attempt to obviate these problems, a large number of custom made Y-cords having different lengths were created. This solution unfortunately requires that the cord manufacturer produce and the truck fleet owner/manufacturer inventory a wide variety of different Y-cords, each having their unique product codes. In addition, some customers may want the two end connectors to be wired in series instead of parallel, thus, further aggravating the situation. This situation often arises when an owner wants to retrofit his vehicle with a thermostat controlled heater.


The invention pertains to a method of manufacturing a photovoltaic foil supported by a carrier and comprising a plurality of photovoltaic layers which together have the ability of generating electric current from incident light, a back-electrode layer on one side adjacent and parallel to the photovoltaic layers, and a transparent conductor layer on the other side of, and adjacent and parallel to the photovoltaic layers, which method comprises the following subsequent steps: providing a temporary substrate, applying the transparent conductor layer, applying the photovoltaic layers, applying the back-electrode layer, applying the carrier, removing the temporary substrate, and, preferably, applying a top coat on the side of the transparent conductor layer. The invention enables the roll-to-roll manufacture of a tough photovoltaic foil or device, while at the same time making it possible to use any desired transparent conductor material and deposition process, without jeopardizing the current-generating action of the PV layers.

The invention is in the field of thin film photovoltaic cells. For example, amorphous silicon (i.e., a-Si:H) photovoltaic (PV) cells are known structures which comprise several layers, usually alternatingly of n-doped, intrinsic, and p-doped silicon, and which essentially have the ability of generating electric current from incident light. Since sunlight, for example, can be used to generate power, photovoltaic cells form an interesting alternative source of energy in principle: one much more environment-friendly than fossil fuels or nuclear power. However, for such PV cells to become a serious and economically attractive alternative, they need to be provided in a suitable form and made by relatively low-cost processes, using relatively inexpensive raw materials.

Method of manufacturing a photovoltaic foil


The present invention provides a pharmaceutical preparation for percutaneous absorption comprising a drug-impermeable substrate having provided thereon an adhesive layer comprising a drug and a drug dissolution aid, characterized in that said adhesive is composed of a copolymer essentially consisting of 5 to 35 wt % of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone and 65 to 95 wt % of an acrylic acid ester, 3 to 30 wt % of a homopolymer of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone is contained in said adhesive layer as the drug dissolution aid, and said drug is a hydrophilic drug having a saturation solubility of 6 to 50 wt % to N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone. Where the hydrophilic drug is Piroxicam, it is preferred to use a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether and/or a fatty acid alkylolamide as an absorption enhancer in combination.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical preparation for percutaneous absorption comprising a substrate having provided thereon an adhesive layer containing a relatively hydrophilic drug and more particularly, to a preparation for percutaneous absorption which is used as a plaster having a high percutaneous absorption of a drug over long periods of time and having a difficultly decreasing adhesiveness over long periods of time.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
Pharmaceutical preparations for percutaneous absorption. have many advantages as compared to oral administration in that they can avoid liver metabolism, can maintain blood concentration of a drug in a definite range over long periods of time, can be used in a simple fashion, etc. Among preparations for percutaneous absorption, a plaster is an extremely desirable preparation since a dose can be set in a definite range, a plaster itself has a high adhesive force, one has a low feeling of foreign matter with a plaster upon use and there is no chance of getting clothes dirt.
However, the skin plays a role of protecting the living body to prevent invasion of a foreign matter into the body and hence, in many cases, it is difficult to percutaneously administer a drug in a sufficient dose into the body. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures such as increasing an area to be applied, increasing an amount of a drug to be permeated per unit area, and the like. However, an excessively increased area to be applied results in inconvenience upon use or a high feeling of foreign matter so that practicability is damaged. It is thus automatically limited to increase the area. On the other hand, in order to increase an amount of a drug to be permeated per unit area, there are many proposals that a drug concentration in a base or an adhesive layer is increased, an absorption enhancer is added, etc. An increased concentration of a drug in a base is an effective means since drug permeability can be maintained in a high level over long periods of time. However, the solubility of a hydrophilic drug is low in a general adhesive so that an increase in drug concentration in a base results in crystallization on the surface or in the inside of a base. Formation of drug crystals results in a serious decrease in adhesiveness and in many hydrophilic drugs, releasability from a base is also markedly reduced. That is, many hydrophilic drugs encounter serious problems that a drug concentration in a base is increased only with difficulty, and there is no adhesive capable of maintaining these drugs in a high concentration.
In order to solve the foregoing problems, it is proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-260028 to use poly-N-vinyl-lactam or a copolymer of N-vinyl-lactam as one component of the therapeutically active compound-releasing system using as a base an adhesive having physical properties of a rubber. It is taught that these components in a base of rubber type adhesive prevent from crystallization a therapeutically active compound in the therapeutically active compound-releasing system or at least greatly retarding the crystallization.
Where the rubber type adhesive is used as a base, however, there is a poor compatibility between the rubber type adhesive and poly-N-vinyl-lactam or a copolymer of N-vinyl-lactam so that stability of the resulting matrix is deteriorated with passage of time. Unless the matrix is stable with passage of time, the applicability and releasability of a plaster are also unstable, and these situations are serious problems as a drug. Furthermore, in the case of a hydrophilic drug, its solubility in a rubber type adhesive is extremely low so that the rubber type adhesive is not suited for increase a drug concentration, either.
Turning to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-185713, there is proposed a method which comprises applying a solution of adhesive containing a drug on one surface of a substrate and crystallizing crystals of the drug during a subsequent drying step thereby to disperse the crystals in a base in a finely divided particulate state. However, many drugs have an extremely low dissolution rate of a drug in a base from a crystalline state. Therefore, this method cannot be generalized for all drugs.
Topical plasters using, e.g., Piroxicam, are described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 63-159318 and 3-109327. However, drug concentrations in solid preparations found in these examples are as low as 1% or less and 3% or less, respectively. It is thus difficult to maintain a necessary amount of the drug in a base over long periods of time.
It is particularly advantageous to add an absorption enhancer, since the enhancer improves a drug permeability. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-172833 indicates that by using phospholipid as an absorption enhancer in combination with a non-steroidal antiinflammatory agent in percutaneous administration, percutaneous absorption is increased. However, such an effect is not recognized with all drugs; a percutaneous absorption enhancing action of phospholipid is insufficient for, e.g., Piroxicam and hence, any sufficient therapeutic effect cannot be expected.

Pharmaceutical preparation for percutaneous absorption


A method for visualizing vector fields uses texture mapping for the vectors to create an animated vector field. Vectors are textured with one dimensional texture maps composed of alternating visible and invisible segments. Successively applied texture maps differ from each other in order to create a moving line effect on the vectors being visualized. A fading effect is further provided by varying the intensity of the visible segments.

Vector fields implicitly contain a large amount of data not directly nor easily observable. In engineering applications, vector fields can represent magnetic, electrical, fluid and gas velocity fields as well as various displacement and strain fields. Several techniques exist in computer graphics to assist scientists and engineers in understanding the phenomena behind the analyzed data. One technique called streamlines creates trajectories of massless particles that move along the field. The trajectories are generated using standard techniques by solving differential equations that have right side derivatives equal to the sample vectors of the vector field under investigation.
Another technique called hedgehogs represents the vector field by drawing oriented scaled lines along the vectors of a vector field. Most techniques, except hedgehogs, require the solution of differential equations to generate the appropriate imagery. The solution of differential equations can be time consuming, especially if the original field data is given on a non-structured grid. In the case of the hedgehog technique, the graphics representation is simple and fast. However, if the field data is sampled at more than a few hundred points in the 3-D space, its visual representation on a 2-D computer display can be difficult to understand. If particles are used to simulate the motion along the streamlines, the efficiency of the technique is drastically reduced as the number of particles increases. Another drawback of techniques relying on streamlines is the computational errors that increase with the length of the trajectories. This can produce misleading and inaccurate representations.
In computer graphics, color, texture, and transparency are usually used to enhance visual perception of displayed images. For example, vectors in the hedgehog method can be colored differently based on the vector length. Transparency and texture are more often used to display surfaces and solids. Transparency allows one to view simultaneously two or more objects, one in front of the others. Texture is typically used to present naturally looking surfaces when they simulate real life objects such as wood, grass, buildings, etc., and also to enhance motion perception when one object is moving in front of another. In the last case, texture provides an additional frame of reference for local motion detection.
In the past, one application of color in computer graphics has been to indicate movement and velocity. This has been done through the use of color map cycling. The technique relies on the ability to quickly update a hardware color map to produce the effect of movement in a still raster image. Current graphics supercomputers typically do not rely on color maps to generate screen images, but they do have the ability to perform texture mapping. This ability can be utilized in a similar manner to color map animation, with additional benefits.

Method for vector field visualization using time varying texture maps


An integrated circuit chip package is described wherein the chip has an active face including a plurality of input and output pads. The chip is mounted face down on a pluralilty of flexible inner beam leads. The package's outer beam leads are bonded to pads residing on an underlying circuit board. A convective heat sink is thermally mounted to the reverse face of the chip, which heat sink is formed from folded thin metal sheet. The heat sink exhibits both minimum mass, and optimum cooling efficiency. The minimum mass reduces the cost of the heat sink through material savings and minimizes the possibility of damage to the package caused by sudden acceleration. The heat sink, in addition to itself being somewhat flexible, is provided with mounting points which are physically connected to the underlying circuit board via resilient connecting means.

The prior art is replete with various package configurations for semiconductor chips. In recent years, the cost of such packages has, in many cases, outdistanced the cost of the chips. To overcome this cost problem, a technique known as Tape Automated Bonding (TAB) packaging has come into being and it is especially useful with lower cost, low power dissipation integrated circuits. TAB packaging involves the use of a web of material, generally called a carrier tape, to carry electrically conductive leads which provide connections between the chip and the outside world. The carrier tape is incremented past a number of operating stations, one of which places a chip on an inner cluster of the conductive leads, which inner cluster is then bonded to connecting pads on the chip. The tape is then incremented to a station where the active face of the chip, including the inner lead bonds may be coated with a passivating material. The tape is then moved to a further station where the outer cluster of leads on the carrier tape is severed from the tape. The tape/chip combination is then registered with conductive pads residing on an underlying circuit board and the outer leads are bonded to the conductive pads. The circuit board-chip combination is then available for further processing.
TAB packaging is, by its nature, inexpensive. Its use has been mainly restricted to low power dissipation circuits as it is quite difficult to apply heat sinks to a TAB package structure. The main (and often only) physical interconnection between a chip and an underlying circuit board in a TAB package is via bonds between the tape-carried outer leads and the underlying conductive pads on the circuit board. To attach a cast or extruded heat sink to the chip in a TAB package is impractical as, in the event of mechanical vibration or strain, the chip will tend to pull away from the circuit board and the exerted forces may exceed the rupture strength of the lead bonds or the tape itself.
The prior art has attempted to solve the heat dissipation problems inherent with TAB packages via a number of routes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,607 to Reid attempts to solve the problem by emplacing the chip "back down" on a metal base plate causing the chip to be configured in a face-up orientation. One problem with this arrangement is that it calls for the use of a double metal clad plastic carrier rather than a less expensive single metal clad carrier. Furthermore, Reid suggests that the chip with its metal backing be emplaced so that the metal backing is flush with the underlying circuit board to enable the board to provide a more extensive heat sink capability. This configuration results in a relatively long thermal path before convective cooling is encountered. In other words, if the semiconductor ]unctions within the chip overheat, that heat must first be transferred from the chip to the underlying metal base and thence into a thermally conductive substrate where, finally, it is available to be dissipated via convective or forced air flow. Ideally, the metal heat dissipator should, itself, be subjected to convective air flow for cooling purposes.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,936 to McIver et al, a chip is mounted face down on a substrate in which there is formed a plurality of thermal passages. A thermally conductive material fills the passages and provides heat dissipating pathways for chip-developed heat. This technique suffers from the same problem which besets Reid, (i.e., a long thermal pathway).
While much of the heat sink prior art shows the use of extruded aluminum or copper heat sinks of some substantial mass, other prior art shows the use of relatively thin sheets of copper or aluminum for heat sink structures. One such arrangement is described in the Lewis et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,238. Therein is described a heat sink which mounts on the top of a semi-conductor package, with a chip being disposed within the package. Here again, the problem is that a long thermal path is required before the heat can be withdrawn from the chip's structure.
Still another problem which besets heat sinks adopted for use with TAB packages is how to support them, in an inexpensive fashion, while still retaining optimum heat dissipation characteristics. Physical interconnections to supports which are separate from the underlying circuit board make removal of the circuit board difficult. Physical interconnections to the board itself create different problems. For instance, circuit boards are often subject to flexure when they are inserted or withdrawn from mating connectors, which flexure can cause rupture of inflexible physical connections to a heat sink.
The above is not to say that prior art heat dissipation methods have been insufficient when it came to their use with low power dissipating TAB packages. So long as the chips dissipated one watt or less per chip, some of the prior art techniques were acceptable. Presently however, such TAB structures are being designed to dissipate two or more watts per chip and prior art heat dissipating techniques prove insufficient -- especially when attempting to cool the underlying chips by simple natural convective air flow -- as contrasted to forced air flow or refrigeration.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved convective heat sink for a TAB mounted chip wherein the chip's power dissipation is higher than experienced in the prior art.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a TAB mounted convective heat sink which provides a very short thermal pathway for chip cooling.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improved convective heat sink exhibiting a minimum mass which, even when subjected to significant accelerations and deaccelerations, avoids damage to the circuit package.
It is still another object of this invention provide an improved convective heat sink which is particularly adapted for use with circuit boards which may experience flexure.

Integrated circuit package with improved cooling means


A test device for testing a first contact lens classified as a specific type of contact lens is disclosed. The test device includes a light emitting unit and a detection unit. The light emitting unit emits a first incident light to the first contact lens to generate a first reflected light having a first light intensity, and the detection unit receives the first reflected light, in response to the first light intensity generates a first light intensity value, and implements a specific water content algorithm based on the first light intensity value to estimate an actual water content associated with the first contact lens, wherein the specific water content algorithm is constructed based on a water content reference data associated with the specific type of contact lens and a corresponding light intensity measurement data associated with the water content reference data.

The water content of a contact lens is expressed as (M−m)×100/M, wherein M is the mass of a contact lens in an aqueous equilibrium state, and m is the mass of a contact lens in a dry state. Commercially available contact lenses detection methods used by manufacturers are mostly coulometric or polarography. Although these two methods have been certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the operations are time-consuming, the equipment is not easy to carry and is susceptible to environmental impact, resulting in relative inconvenience in measurement.
TW No. M497287 U discloses a contact lens test vehicle. U.S. Publication Patent No. 20170089802 A1 discloses a method for characterizing a spectacle.
The technical scheme for testing a contact lens in the prior art generally focuses on measuring the lens flaw and/or contour integrity of the contact lens and optimizing the stage for placing the contact lens and detecting the handling method. In addition, multiple contact lens test schemes in the prior art employ contact measurement and are not innovative about the measurement methodology. Although these methods are mature, the contact manner and electrochemical principles will cause problems with hygiene, health and discomfort. Therefore, a more innovative non-contact type of optical detection technology should be developed to improve the quality of contact lens.
In order to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, a test device and method for testing contact lenses are disclosed. The particular design in the present invention not only solves the problems described above, but is also easy to implement. Thus, the present invention has utility for industry.

Test device and method for testing contact lens and test device for testing hydrous element


Various approaches discussed herein enable techniques for adjusting color temperature value of illumination, for example with regard to electrophoretic ink display screens. A plurality of one type of LEDs are positioned along an injection line of a light guide panel, and are interleaved with a plurality of another type of LED positioned along the injection line. By controlling the current supplied to each group of LEDs, a color temperature value of light directed onto a display screen from the light guide panel may be adjusted to remove or reduce blue aspects.

As the popularity of mobile devices continues to increase, people use devices more during the night. Some mobile devices offer an illumination display scheme for the display that utilizes light emitting diodes (LEDs) to accentuate ambient light or as a sole source of illumination for the display. Especially in the evening when a user's pupils may be dilated, the blue color components of the light provided by the LEDs may be perceived as harsh, and may have negative effects, such as interfering with a user's normal sleep patterns.

Adjustable color temperature illumination