[Problem]

A laser range finder (LRF), which is a kind of a range sensor, is a noninvasive sensor that can be used for anonymous tracking for a pedestrian with high precision in social environment.
For a pedestrian tracking, a laser range finder has many advantages over a sensor of other types.
First, noninvasiveness thereof is a large advantage.
Furthermore, a use of hardware such as a floor pressure sensor may be destructive to public and business district, and a requirement to make people carry with a tag or a portable device will often demand to actively intervene in a social system that is a target for research.
On the other hand, although a video is sometimes used as a tracking tool, the LRF provides far high measurement precision and data processing required is far fewer.
Furthermore, the LRF outputs only anonymous distance information and a concern over privacy is less than a video camera.
Although these advantages must be weighed against a cost of the sensor, even if taking such a point into consideration, the LRF is a popular tool for analyzing action of a human in the public space of high traffic.
It is important that a human tracking system provides exact data consistently, and appropriate calibration of a sensor position is indispensable to it.
An example of a conventional calibration apparatus of a range sensor is disclosed in the patent literature 1. In a movable body position estimation system disclosed in this patent literature 1, a distance to a movable body is measured by each of three or more range sensors that are dispersed mutually in a measurement area, and a position estimation calculation apparatus acquires a sensor measurement value at an arbitrary time from each of the range sensors, and stores them. Distance reliability that indicates a degree of reliability according to the distance is applied to the sensor measurement value that is acquired and stored of each of the range sensors, and positions of the range sensors and the movable body are estimated with using the measurement values having high reliability out of the sensor measurement values that is acquired and stored. Furthermore, position estimation processing performs calibration of the position of each of the range sensors and estimation of a moving position of the movable body with using the sensor measurement values obtained from the two or more range sensors at positions before and after movement of the movable body.
However, since an initial value of each sensor position is required when calculating each sensor position in the movable body position estimation system of the patent literature 1, whenever environment to measure changes, for example, it is necessary to measure the initial value, and it is troublesome.
In order to cope with such a problem, a patent literature 2 discloses a calibration apparatus that can perform calibration of positions and directions of a plurality of range sensors installed in certain environment even if not giving an initial value, for example.
In a technology disclosed in this patent literature 2, a measuring apparatus includes a computer, and a plurality of range sensors are connected to the computer. Based on an output from each sensor, the computer detects a human observation point for each sensor, and calculates a human moving locus from a time change of the human observation point. Next, the moving loci calculated based on outputs of respective sensors are made to be agreed with each other between the sensors. Two human observation points on the agreed moving locus are extracted according to a predetermined rule, and a distance between the sensors that produce the agreed moving locus with using them and restriction between the sensors about relative angles are calculated for each set of the sensors that the moving loci are agreed with each other. Then, using the restrictions between the sensors, the positions and the directions of all the sensors are estimated and the estimated positions are adjusted.

Calibration apparatus, calibration method and calibration program

Abstract: [Problem]

Abstract: To provide a calibration apparatus capable of reducing a workload for calibrating a position and a direction of each range sensor.

Abstract: [Solving Means]

Abstract: In the measurement arithmetic unit 100, the social group identification portion 5610 identifies a group candidate that is detected as a group out of moving measuring objects in each laser range finder. The group comparison portion 5612 identifies a group in agreement for each pair of the laser range finder, and calculates the relative position of each pair of the laser range finder according to the position and the directions of the identified matching group. The network position identifying portion 5620 calibrates the position and the direction of each laser range finder in the sensor network coordinate system such that the error of the position of the object observed in common from each pair becomes minimum.

Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International


A CRT exhaust oven for heat-treating CRTs includes an oven housing, a baffle structure accommodated in the oven housing for circulation of atmosphere within the oven housing, and a plurality of exhaust carts capable of travelling below the oven housing. Each of the exhaust carts is provided with two exhaust heads having different heights aligned in the direction of travel of the exhaust carts so that there is no clearance, as viewed from above, between two adjoining CRTs mounted on respective exhaust heads of each exhaust cart. Each of the exhaust carts travels intermittently below the oven housing. The baffle structure has a large number of upper and lower holes formed on respective sides thereof in the direction of travel of the exhaust carts. The atmosphere introduced inside the baffle structure through the lower holes is directed to funnel portions of the two adjoining CRTs having different heights whereas the atmosphere introduced inside the baffle structure through the upper holes is directed to panel portions of the two adjoining CRTs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a CRT exhaust oven capable of heating and cooling down CRTs while exhausting gases contained therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a CRT exhaust oven generally comprises an oven body and a plurality of exhaust carts, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application (examined) No. 61-27935, Japanese Patent Application (examined) No. 2-22317, Japanese Patent Application (examined) No. 2-22318, or the like. Each cart holds either one CRT or two CRTs aligned in the direction of travel of the exhaust carts and is fed into the exhaust oven. While the CRTs are conveyed through the oven, they are heat-treated by hot or cool atmospheric circulation in the exhaust oven. At the same time, gases within the CRTs are evacuated by a vacuum pump provided on the exhaust cart.
In general, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a clearance .alpha.1 of approximately 100 mm is provided between two adjoining CRTs 20 mounted on an exhaust cart 15, as viewed from above.
Such a predetermined clearance necessitates a longer exhaust oven if a number of exhaust carts are employed for heat-treating and evacuating a predetermined number of CRTs.
This not only increases the cost of equipment but also lowers thermal efficiency.


The present invention provides an optical recording method including: recording information on a recording layer for holographically recording information in an optical recording medium by irradiating the optical recording medium with an information beam and a reference beam, and repetitively recording information on the recording layer while moving at least any one of the information beam and reference beam and the recording layer along the surface of the recording layer, thereby being capable of shift-multiplex recording operations, wherein the optical recording medium is irradiated on a recording pulse basis, the peak intensity of light of the recording pulse is 0.1 mW to 100 mW, the irradiation time is 0.05 nsec to 1×105 nsec, and the irradiation of recording pulse is performed 5 times to 1×107 times per 1 msec; and also provides an optical recording apparatus and an optical recording medium.

A method for recording on an optical recording medium by holography generally utilizes optical interference between an image information-carrying information beam (object beam) and a reference beam inside the medium to produce an interference image (interference fringes), and records it in the medium.
Holographic optical recording that involves application of such information and reference beams with their optical axes matched is referred to as "collinear holography".
Application of information and reference beams by collinear holography produces interference fringes in the recording layer of an optical recording medium, thereby recording information therein. Reproduction of the information recorded in the optical recording medium is achieved by application of a reproduction beam, which is identical to the reference beam used for recording, from the same direction as the reference beam. This leads to generation of a diffracted beam from the interference image formed of interference fringes as optical information, and the optical information is reproduced by collecting the diffracted beam.
As a method for increasing the storage capacity of optical recording media, there are proposed multiplex recording methods for increasing the density of the interference fringes recorded. More specifically, shift-multiplex recording, angle-multiplex recording, wavelength-multiplex recording, and phase-multiplex recording have been utilized.
Among these recording strategies, the shift-multiplex recording has high compatibility with conventional CD and DVD recording methods where information is recorded on a spinning disc, and offers high random access performance. This is because in this recording method, additional information, or interference image, is placed one after another on the initial recorded information while slightly moving either a beam spot or an optical recording medium along the surface of the recording layer. For this reason, shift-multiplex recording is employed for the above-mentioned collinear holography where single lens is used for recording (see Non-Patent Literature 1).
As shown in FIG. 4, shift-multiplex recording by collinear holography is carried out on a recording pulse beam basis, i.e., on a recording beam spot basis, which beam spot has a predetermined size and is produced by focusing an information beam and reference beam 39, which have been passed through an object lens 12, in a recording layer of an optical recording medium 21. When a beam spot has been applied to a recording area and information is recorded, the optical recording medium 21 rotates by one pitch of a distance of p in a counterclockwise direction which is opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4. In this way a beam spot is applied for every one-pitch rotation to the next recording area, whereby recorded information is sequentially multiplexed.
In the shift-multiplex recording, when the recording pulse is used, a portion where the information beam and reference beam are focused (a recording spot formed in a substantially circular shape with a spot diameter of about 200 μm) contains information of approximately 30,000 bits (about 4,000 bites), and the information is recorded as one page, and information is recorded on a data page basis (see Patent Literature 1).
The reason why such a large volume of information of approximately 30,000 bits is recorded in one data page is to increase the recording density.
In order to record such a large volume of information, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a recording pulse 26 is used once every approximately 200 μsec with a peak intensity of light of 100 W for 30 nsec as irradiation time.
However, in order to record such a large volume of information in a short period of time, like 30 nsec of the light irradiation time, 15 mW is required as the average energy amount. As an average energy density required for recording in the recording spot of having a diameter of about 200 μm, about 9.5 mW/cm2 is required. Therefore, as a total recording energy, energy of about 1 mJ/cm2 is necessary.
However, in order to record information with a high energy of about 1 mJ/cm2 in a short period of light irradiation time of 30 nsec, it is necessary to prepare a light source having a relatively high-capacity, a large size spatial light modulator (SLM) for processing a large volume of information of approximately 30,000 bits, as well as a photodetector composed of CMOS and the like, which makes it difficult to use optical recording method by holography to small-size optical systems such as optical systems used for present CD and/or DVD.
An optical recording method that allows for downsizing of optical systems by reducing the irradiation energy per one recording during irradiation of an information beam and a reference beam as well as allows for application of holographic recording to small-size optical systems used for CD and/or DVD, and an optical recording apparatus and an optical recording medium that can achieve the purposes have not yet been provided so far, and it has been desired to provide the method, apparatus and optical recording medium.
[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2004-177958
[Non-Patent Literature 1] Nikkei Electronics, pp. 105-114, Jan. 17, 2005

Optical recording method, optical reproduction method, optical recording apparatus, and optical recording medium


A sonar projector having a pair of opposed oscillating pistons driven by an electromagnetic assembly is provided with reduced weight and high power by forming the electromagnetic assembly with a permanent magnet structure consisting of two coaxial longitudinally juxtaposed members each having permanent magnets radially poled oppositely to the permanent magnets of the other coaxial member, each of the permanent magnets of one coaxial member forming a series magnetic circuit with one of the permanent magnets of the other coaxial member. As a result of this arrangement, the amount of iron required for pole pieces of the electromagnetic assembly is reduced without reducing power. Furthermore, the size or volume is also reduced as compared to an equivalent projector.

The present invention relates generally to sonar equipment for underwater generation of sound and more particularly to the structure of an electromagnetic drive system for a sound transducer or projector having piston means for generating acoustic waves and including pressure compensation means.
In the technology of underwater sound generating equipment, three design parameters are of compelling importance. These are weight, volume and power. In many applications, the ability to maintain power or reduce volume while reducing or limiting weight is of significant importance.
In moving coil transducers, electromagnetic means including a moving coil operate to drive piston means which produce the energy. The type of electromagnetic arrangement utilized can have a significant affect upon power output and overall weight.
The development of rare earth permanent magnet materials provided opportunities to improve the designs and performance of devices, such as underwater sound transducers, which relied upon the previous generation of magnetic materials; generally ferrites and Alnico alloys.
Among such devices are the electrodynamic or "moving-coil" transducers. A typical electrodynamic transducer is the loudspeaker. However, the high cost of the new rare earth materials and the relatively satisfactory performance of existing ferrite materials provided little incentive for such applications. However, a related device, the electrodynamic sonar transducer, had much to gain.
In prior art devices, the substantial increases in magnetic flux made available by the new material for a given magnet assembly volume and weight were a welcome development because of the already high costs associated with the construction of each sonar unit. However, since increased flux density requires iron pole pieces adequate to carry this magnetic flux from the permanent magnet assembly to the air gap and return, the weight associated with the iron pole pieces can produce problems in certain applications. Thus, reducing the amount of iron required for the pole pieces without reducing the power delivered by the electromagnetic drive means can provide a significant advantage, particularly in underwater transducers where weight is an important consideration.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention, to provide an improved electromagnetic drive arrangement for a moving coil transducer which provides enhanced power characteristics without creating the need for increasing the weight of the iron pole pieces. Because of the particular arrangement of the permanent magnet members of the electromagnetic drive means in accordance with the present invention, pole piece weight may be reduced without decreasing power output or, conversely, power may be increased without increasing the iron required for the pole pieces, as would ordinarily be necessary with prior art devices.

Electromagnetic drive assembly for under water sonar transducer


Silicone compositions comprising an organopolysiloxane composition and an organic compound capable of coordination with metals are described. Since the organic compound is preferentially adsorbed on a metal surface, the composition is particularly suitable for use in electric or electronic parts to prevent contact failure. A more specific embodiment comprises a diorganopolysiloxane of the average unit formula, R.sub.a SiO.sub.(4-a)/2, wherein each R independently represents an unsubstituted or substituted monovalent hydrocarbon group, and a is a value of from 1.90 to 2.05, a filler, an alkoxysilane or its hydrolyzate, a silylation catalyst made of an organic silicon compound having at least one specific type of group, an organic tin compound, another organosilicon compound capable of reaction with an alcohol in order to stabilize the composition, and an organic compound capable of coordination with metals.

1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to organopolysiloxane compositions which are adapted for use as insulating materials for electric and electronic parts in order to prevent contact troubles of the parts.
2. Description of The Prior Art
Various types of rubber materials and greases have been heretofore employed as insulating materials around contact members of electric and electronic parts or equipments. From the standpoint of the heat resistance and electric characteristics, silicone materials have been frequently used for this purpose. Organopolysiloxanes, which are main components of the silicone compositions, usually contain volatile, low molecular weight siloxanes. These low molecular weight siloxanes gradually release or evaporate from the composition and deposit on the contact members after application of the composition to electric or electronic circuit parts and curing. In this condition, when sparking takes place at electric contacts of the parts, the siloxane is decomposed into silicon dioxide. This will cause the contacts to be insulated, i.e. a so-called contact trouble is disadvantageously produced, so that motor circuits, relay circuits and the like parts do not work normally.

Silcone compositions comprising organic compounds having the capabilities of coordination with metals


Disclosed herein is a battery module including chargeable and dischargeable battery cells which are sequentially arranged in a stacked state, cartridges fixing edges of the respective battery cells to form a battery cell stacked structure, and heat transfer members mounted between the respective battery cells, edges of the heat transfer members being partially or entirely fixed to the respective cartridges. The battery module according to the present invention is configured to have a structure in which the heat transfer members, to which heat generated from the battery cells is conducted, are coupled to the cartridges to fix the battery cells and, at the same time, to cool the battery cells, thereby improving cooling efficiency, reducing the size of the battery module to have a compact structure, and improving structural stability of the battery cells.

Recently, a secondary battery, which can be charged and discharged, has been widely used as an energy source for wireless mobile devices. In addition, the secondary battery has attracted considerable attention as a power source for electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (Plug-in HEV), which have been developed to solve problems, such as air pollution, caused by existing gasoline and diesel vehicles using fossil fuels.
Small-sized mobile devices use one or several battery cells for each device. On the other hand, middle or large-sized devices, such as vehicles, use a middle or large-sized battery module having a plurality of battery cells electrically connected to each other because high output and large capacity are necessary for the middle or large-sized devices.
Preferably, a middle or large-sized battery module is manufactured so as to have as small a size and weight as possible. For this reason, a prismatic battery or a pouch-shaped battery, which can be stacked with high integration and has a small weight to capacity ratio, is usually used as a battery cell (unit battery) of the middle or large-sized battery module. In particular, much interest is currently focused on the pouch-shaped battery, which uses an aluminum laminate sheet as a sheathing member, because the pouch-shaped battery is lightweight, the manufacturing cost of the pouch-shaped battery is low, and it is easy to modify the shape of the pouch-shaped battery.
Battery cells constituting such a middle or large-sized battery module may be secondary batteries which can be charged and discharged. Consequently, a large amount of heat is generated from such high-output, large-capacity secondary batteries during charge and discharge of the batteries. In particular, the laminate sheet of each pouch-shaped battery widely used in the battery module has a polymer material exhibiting low thermal conductivity coated on the surface thereof with the result that it is difficult to effectively lower overall temperature of the battery cells.
If the heat, generated from the battery module during charge and discharge of the battery module, is not effectively removed from the battery module, the heat accumulates in the battery module with the result that deterioration of the battery module is accelerated. According to circumstances, the battery module may catch fire or explode. For this reason, a high-output, large-capacity battery pack needs a cooling system to cool battery cells mounted therein.
Each battery module mounted in a middle or large-sized battery pack is generally manufactured by stacking a plurality of battery cells with high integration. In this case, the battery cells are stacked in a state in which the battery cells are arranged at predetermined intervals such that heat generated during charge and discharge of the battery cells can be removed. For example, the battery cells may be sequentially stacked in a state in which the battery cells are arranged at predetermined intervals without using an additional member. Alternatively, in a case in which the battery cells have low mechanical strength, one or more battery cells may be mounted in a cartridge, and a plurality of cartridges may be stacked to constitute a battery module. Coolant channels are defined between the stacked battery cells or between the stacked battery modules so that heat accumulated between the stacked battery cells or between the stacked battery modules is effectively removed.
In this structure, however, it is necessary to provide a plurality of coolant channels corresponding to a plurality of battery cells with the result that the overall size of the battery module is increased.
In addition, intervals between the coolant channels are relatively narrowed as a plurality of battery cells is stacked in consideration of the size of the battery module. As a result, design of the cooling structure is complicated. That is, high pressure loss is caused by the coolant channels arranged at intervals narrower than a coolant inlet port with the result that it is difficult to design shapes and positions of the coolant inlet port and a coolant outlet port. Furthermore, a fan may be further provided to prevent such pressure loss. In this case, however, design may be restricted due to power consumption, fan noise, space, or the like.
Consequently, there is a high necessity for a battery module which can be manufactured to have a simple and compact structure while providing high-output, large-capacity power and exhibits excellent lifespan characteristics and stability based on high cooling efficiency.

Battery module with cooling structure of high efficiency


Somatostatin (SS) is modified to incorporate a carbohydrate moiety in the peptide chain by linkage to either Asn, Ser or Thr. The modified SS peptide analog may have the formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is preferably a hexose or amino-hexose, such as glucose or N-acetylglucosamine. Alternatively, the carbohydrate can be linked to Ser or Thr by an ether bond. Such glycosomatostatins have an extended biological half-life compared to the parent peptide and substantially the same potency. Modifications and substitutions with respect to other amino acid residues in the chain can be made in the glycopeptides, for the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of SS analogs in other ways, and such increased effectiveness is a characteristic of the glycosomatostatin along with its longer-acting biological effect.

Somatostatin (SS) and various acylated derivatives of SS are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,595 to Guillemin et al. SS is a tetradecapeptide having the following structure, with amino acid moieties numbered from left to right in accordance with usual nomenclature: ##STR2##
U.S. application, Ser. No. 675,149, filed Apr. 9, 1976, describes further SS analogs wherein substitutions for amino acid moieties in the backbone of SS provide a peptide which is therapeutically valuable when introduced, either directly or indirectly, into the bloodstream of mammals to inhibit the secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary gland and insulin and gluagon. from the pancreas. These peptides have D-Trp substituted for Trp in the eight position of SS and may have Ala substituted in the five position or simply have this position deleted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,782, issued Jan. 9, 1979 to Vale et al., describes other analogs of SS which possess dissociated biological activity in respect to the inhibition of growth hormone, insulin or glucagon secretion. Examples of these peptides include des-Asn.sup.5 -[D-Trp.sup.8 ]-SS; [D-Ser.sup.13 ]-SS; [D-Trp.sup.8,D-Ser.sup.13 ]SS; [D-Cys.sup.14 ]-SS;.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,603, describes peptides having fewer amino acid residues than SS but which still possess biological activity in respect to the inhibition of growth hormone, insulin or glucagon secretion. A number of nonapeptides and octapeptides are illustrated, some of which have dissociated activity. The octapeptide covered by this patent having the formula: EQU H--Cys--Phe--Phe--D--Trp--Lys--Thr--Phe--Cys--OH
shows prolonged inhibitory activity on the secretion of insulin, glucogon pancreatic polypeptide and gastrin in human subjects following subcutaneous administration.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies


Techniques, apparatus and systems for using Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy measurements to optically monitor gas media such as gases in gas combustion chambers.

This specification relates to systems, apparatus and techniques for optical sensing in various applications.
Tunable light sources can be used to measure concentrations of molecules in gaseous or other media by absorption spectroscopy measurements. Examples of such tunable light sources include tunable lasers, e.g., tunable diode lasers (TDLs), and other near- and mid-infrared optical sources. Absorption spectroscopy allows measurements of gas concentration using the well-known Beer-Lambert law, which relates the amount of light absorbed due to a transition corresponding to a particular energy at a wavelength of light to the product of the concentration, the optical path length, and the wavelength-dependent absorption coefficient of the absorbing species. The specific wavelength or wavelengths probed correspond to particular energies associated with quantum-mechanical transitions in the molecule being measured.

Optical sensing based on wavelength modulation spectroscopy

The Regents of the University of California


Highly microporous zirconia particulates having pore sizes of an average diameter of less than 20 .ANG. (2 nm), well adapted as catalysts and catalyst supports, are prepared by thermohydrolyzing a zirconium salt, separating the resulting precipitate from the medium of thermohydrolysis and then calcining such precipitate, and wherein an anion more covalent than the hydroxyl anion, e.g., a nitrate, sulfate, phosphate or carboxylate, is incorporated into such precipitate upstream of the calcination thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel zirconium oxide typically described as "zirconia" and more especially, relates to novel microporous zirconia particulates, to a process for the production thereof, and to the use of such novel zirconia particulates as catalysts and catalyst supports.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of catalysis and particularly heterogeneous catalysis, the catalysts or catalytic carriers must be materials having a large specific surface area and a high porosity. In catalytic applications where selectivity in respect of the form of the reagents, products and/or intermediates in the reaction is required, microporosity, i.e., porosity on a molecular scale, is particularly required.
It is known to this art to use bridged zeolites and clays for heterogeneous catalysis since they satisfy the above microporosity requirements. Materials of this type belong to the same families of silicates or aluminophosphates.

Catalytic microporous zirconia particulates


A process for the selective production of acetaldehyde by vapor phase reaction of acetic acid over a hydrogenating catalyst composition to form acetaldehyde is disclosed and claimed. In an embodiment of this invention reaction of acetic acid and hydrogen over platinum and iron supported on silica selectively produces acetaldehyde in a vapor phase at a temperature of about 300° C.

There is a long felt need for an economically viable process to convert acetic acid to acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is an important commodity feedstock for a variety of industrial products. For instance, acetaldehyde can readily be hydrogenated to ethanol, which in itself has wide variety of industrial applications including its wide utility as a gasoline additive. Acetaldehyde can also be converted to ethyl acetate by the Tischenko reaction or reacted with other compounds to form other products. Currently acetaldehyde is produced by the oxidation of ethylene, the Wacker oxidation of ethylene. Fluctuating natural gas and crude oil prices contribute to fluctuations in the cost of conventionally produced, petroleum or natural gas-sourced acetaldehyde, making the need for alternative sources of acetaldehyde all the greater when oil prices rise. Thus it is of interest to develop commercially viable routes to selectively hydrogenate acetic acid to acetaldehyde.
The catalytic hydrogenation of aromatic carboxylic acids to produce aromatic aldehydes has been reported in the literature. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,700 to Maki et al. discloses that aromatic aldehydes can be formed from aromatic carboxylic acids using a catalyst comprising zirconium oxide containing as an essential component at least one element selected from the group consisting of chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, zinc, bismuth, lead rhenium and the elements of Group III in periods 3 to 6 of the periodic table. However, no examples of catalytic hydrogenation of aliphatic carboxylic acids such as acetic acid are provided in this disclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,845 to Yokohama et al. discloses a method of producing an aldehyde, which comprises hydrogenating a carboxylic acid or its alkyl ester with molecular hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst containing chromium oxide of high purity having a specific surface area of at least 10 m2/g and a total content of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium of not more than 0.4 weight percent. It is further reported therein that the hydrogenation reaction is conducted while maintaining the carboxylic acid or its alkyl ester at a concentration of not more than 10 volume percent. Additionally, the only example reported therein is hydrogenation of stearic acid to stearyl aldehyde. Most importantly, the selectivity to aldehyde drops significantly even if the total content of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium increases from about 0.3 weight percent to about 0.46 weight percent, thus rendering the process not suitable for a commercial operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,827 to Ferrero et al. describes a process for the preparation of aldehydes by catalytic hydrogenation of carboxylic acids, esters or anhydrides utilizing a bimetallic ruthenium/tin catalyst. The preferred carboxylic acids are the α-β-unsaturated carboxylic acids with an aromatic back bone or aromatic carboxylic acids. No examples of aliphatic carboxylic acids including acetic acid are provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,498 to Tustin et al. discloses a method for producing acetaldehyde from acetic acid. In this process, acetic acid is hydrogenated with hydrogen at an elevated temperature in the presence of an iron oxide catalyst containing between 2.5 and 90 weight percent palladium. However, the optimal condition reported therein is comprised of an iron oxide catalyst containing at least about 20 weight percent palladium, which affords about 80 percent selectivity to acetaldehyde with about 50 percent conversion of acetic acid. Additionally, significant amounts of by-products including methane, ethane, ethylene, ethanol and acetone are formed.
From the foregoing it is apparent that existing processes do not have the requisite catalysts to selectively convert acetic acid to acetaldehyde or existing art employs catalysts, which are either expensive and/or non-selective for the formation of acetaldehyde and produces undesirable by-products.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Direct and selective production of acetaldehyde from acetic acid utilizing a supported metal catalyst


A fuel pump module assembly for a fuel tank in a vehicle includes a reservoir adapted to be disposed in the fuel tank. The fuel pump module assembly also includes a fuel pump disposed in the reservoir to pump fuel from the fuel tank to an engine of the vehicle. The fuel pump module assembly includes a filter disposed in the reservoir and having an inlet fluidly connected to the fuel pump and having a first outlet fluidly connected to the engine and a second outlet. The fuel pump module assembly further includes a regulating valve disposed in the reservoir and fluidly connected to the second outlet to control fuel supply pressure to the engine.

It is known to provide a fuel tank for a vehicle to hold fuel to be used by an engine of the vehicle. In some vehicles, the fuel tank includes a fuel pump module disposed therein with a removable cover sealed to the top of the fuel tank having an electrical connector and a fuel line outlet connector. The fuel pump module generally includes a fuel reservoir, an electrical fuel pump disposed in the reservoir, and a secondary or jet pump used to fill the reservoir to overfilling.
An example of a fuel pump module or fuel sender is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,330 to Sawert et al. In this patent, the fuel pump module or fuel sender includes a fuel pump disposed in a reservoir with pressure relief and check valves. Moreover, fuel senders typically contain a separate jet pump and fuel regulator. The fuel regulator is sometimes located on a fuel rail and not in the fuel sender or fuel pump module. The jet pump is supplied using hot engine return fuel back to the reservoir, high pressure feed fuel from the fuel pump, or regulator by-pass fuel. Typically, the regulator requires a highly performing seal to prevent fuel leak down and can withstand some amount of back pressure. Moreover, jet pump plumbing typically involves fittings and tubing.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a new fuel pump module for a fuel tank in a vehicle. It is also desirable to provide a fuel pump module that eliminates the use of multiple check and relief valves. It is further desirable to provide a fuel pump module having a regulator and jet pump that reduces connections and assembly therebetween. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a fuel pump module that meets these desires.


A control unit 2 includes a standard control map Map1 in which an EV driving permitting region is set according to the SOC of a battery 3 and a substitute control map Map2 in which the EV driving permitting region of the standard control map Map1 is narrowed, whereby when an air conditioning compressor 112A, 112B is actuated to operate, the driving is controlled by selecting the substitute control map Map2 to be referred to in place of the standard control map Map1.

There is known a vehicle driving system which include an internal combustion engine, an electric motor and a compressor for an air conditioner which controls the humidity, ventilation, and temperature in a passenger compartment of a vehicle (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1).
As shown in FIG. 16, a vehicle driving system 200 of Patent Literature 1 has a twin-clutch type transmission mechanism which includes a first input shaft 202a that is connected to an electric motor 210 and which is selectively coupled with an internal combustion engine output shaft 204 by a first engaging and disengaging unit 205, a second input shaft 202b which is selectively coupled with the internal combustion engine output shaft 204 by a second engaging and disengaging unit 206, an output shaft 203 which outputs a driving force to a driven portion, a first gearset including plural gears that are disposed on the first input shaft 202a and which are selectively coupled with the first input shaft 202a via first synchronizers 230, 231, a second gearset including plural gears that are disposed on the second input shaft 202b and which are selectively coupled with the second input shaft 202b via second synchronizers 216, 217, and a third gearset including plural gears that are disposed on the output shaft 203 and which mesh with the gears of the first gearset and the gears of the second gearset. An air conditioning compressor 260, which is an auxiliary device, is coupled with the electric motor 210 via an air conditioning clutch 261.


A mattress support system for a bed, comprising a base section, a wire support section, and an upper section. The upper section has one or more substantially rigid edge frame members incorporated therein for increased mattress edge support. The edge frame members may further comprise extensions of the upper section, such that the upper section is wider and/or longer than the base section, so that the mattress support system may be supported by a frame which corresponds to the size of the base section, while fully supporting a mattress which corresponds to the larger size of the upper section.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bedding support structures. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mattress support system which provides a rigid edge support, and also allows a mattress of one size to be supported by a mattress support which fits onto a frame of a smaller size.
2. Discussion of the Art
Box springs are a common type of mattress support. The use of a box spring to support a bed mattress is very old and well known. A typical box spring includes a substantially rigid rectangular base framexe2x80x94frequently made of attached wood slatsxe2x80x94with a plurality of spring elements extending upward therefrom. The spring elements may be coil springs or other types of wire supports. Atop the spring elements is a flexible wire top frame or mat having the same outer dimensions as the base frame, which defines the top of the box spring. The framework consisting of the base frame, spring elements, and top frame is then covered or wrapped with fabric, taking on a form and appearance similar to that of a mattress, though usually without substantial foam or other padding. The box spring is then placed upon a bed frame, and a mattress having the same approximate size as the box spring is placed atop the box spring, forming a bed.
The purpose of a box spring is to resiliently support the mattress, providing more cushion for one lying atop the mattress, and also to extend the life of the mattress by giving it full support along its entire lower surface. However, because of the flexible wire top frame and spring elements, the edges of typical box springs may not provide desirable support for the edge of the mattress. When a person sits upon the edge of the mattress, the edge of the mattress presses down against the box spring fabric cover and wraps around the wire elements, accelerating wear of the mattress and of the box spring fabric cover. Many users also prefer a more rigid edge support, and find an extremely flexible edge to be undesirable.
Additionally, a typical box spring cannot fully support a mattress of a larger size without the provision of an additional component, because a larger size mattress would hang over the edge of the box spring. Without adequate support beneath, the edges of the mattress become unuseable, and the mattress also wears out faster. Currently, a bed owner who desires to move up to a larger size mattress can insert an extension panel or equivalent additional piece of bed support equipment between the mattress and box spring to support the additional size. Alternatively, they must purchase not only a matching larger box spring, but a new and larger bed frame, at significant expense. Neither of these solutions are economical or desirable in many situations.
The inventors have developed a mattress support system with a more rigid edge frame for supporting the edge of a mattress, and with edge extensions for supporting a larger mattress. In an illustrative embodiment, the invention provides a mattress support system for a bed, comprising a base section and an upper section. The upper section has one or more edge frame members incorporated therein, which are supported on the base section for firm mattress edge support.
In accordance with a more detailed aspect of the present invention, the edge frame members may further comprise extensions of the upper section, such that the upper section is wider or longer, or both, than the base section, so that the mattress support system may be supported by a frame which corresponds to the smaller size of the base section, while fully supporting a mattress which corresponds to the larger size of the upper section.
The invention thus allows one having a bed frame of a particular size to use a larger mattress without having to purchase additional bed frame components. It also provides firm support for the edge of the mattress. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention.


Optical network terminal (ONT) power failure management. A system for permitting a customer of a telecommunication company, for whom fiber to the premises (FTTP) has been installed, to control operating features associated with operation of a battery backup unit (BBU) which is used, during power failure, for powering the ONT associated with the FTTP installation and the customer's telephone(s). The controlling of these features includes utilization of signal-controlled switches, which are manually over-rideable by the customer, thereby providing the desired operating feature control.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to usage of a telecommunication company's fiber to the premises (FTTP) installation at customer premises and, more particularly, relates to the customer's controlling of features associated with a battery backup unit (BBU) used for powering an optical network terminal (ONT) associated with the FTTP installation during power failures.
2. Description of Prior Art
Fiber optic infrastructure is currently being deployed by certain telecommunication companies, including the assignee of the present invention, and being operatively connected to their respective customer bases. Fiber optic telecommunication infrastructure offers many advantages over the old standard copper wire cabling, not the least of which is vastly increased bandwidth. The plain old telephone system (POTS) had operated, and still operates, with copper wiring. POTS is now being made compatible with fiber optic cabling.
However, a POTS telephone system in combination with this new fiber optic infrastructure involves certain optically-related and/or other functionality not previously needed in the copper wire cabling world. For example, an optical line terminal (OLT) is needed which may be located in the central office of the relevant telecommunications company or at some other regional location (but not on customer premises). The OLT is communicatively coupled via fiber optic cable to the ONT which is normally located immediately outside of a customer's premises (typically mounted on an outside wall some four-five feet above ground).
The ONT is powered by a power supply such as, for example, a power supply similar, or related, to that described in patent application Ser. No. 11/144,566 filed Jun. 3, 2005, claiming benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/576,675 filed Jun. 3, 2004, its assignee, and inventor being, in common with those of this instant application entitled: "Multi-Component ONT Power Supply" and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. That power supply is, in turn, powered by typical electric utility company power which is subject to power failure for reasons including, without limitation, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. During a utility company power failure, traditional POTS telephone service over copper wiring is ordinarily able to continue because of POTS battery back-up infrastructure which is in place at telecommunication company central offices. This battery backup system is designed to maintain POTS telephone service for an entire community. But, that otherwise-available emergency POTS telephone service shall not be available to a telephone customer using a FTTP system, if the ONT cannot communicate with the OLT over the fiber optic cable because the ONT lacks power due to that power failure.
To this end, battery backup has also been provided within the FTTP environment for the ONT and for customer telephone instruments connected to that ONT. But, in contrast with the central office location of POTS battery backup, ONT battery backup is located proximate its associated ONT, generally within, or near, the telephone customer's premises. This ONT battery backup unit (BBU) can be designed to include certain customer-useful features. One example is an alarm which sounds when the battery voltage level is low. However, an incessant sounding alarm can be an annoyance and, to compound the annoyance, the alarm is itself using battery energy when emitting sound. These features, under certain circumstances, can therefore be a detriment instead of a benefit to the customer. There is, therefore, a need for managing these features in a manner that reduces or eliminates any customer annoyance otherwise generated by these features. The present invention provides a solution to this shortcoming of the prior art.

Optical network terminal power failure management


A low-power CMOS driver circuit capable of operating at high frequencies includes a CMOS output driver circuit and a pair of CMOS predriver circuits for driving the CMOS output driver circuit. A timing circuit is provided for generating three different timing signals for switching the predriver circuits in such a manner that the CMOS driver circuit is capable of operating at frequencies above 1 MHz without dissipating significant power.

This invention is in the field of digital circuits, and relates more particularly to low-power CMOS driver circuits capable of operating at high frequencies without dissipating significant power.
Standard CMOS drivers, having a circuit configuration such as that shown by transistors 510 and 512 in FIG. 5, are normally quite adequate for driving relatively large off-chip capacitive loads, such as the gate of a power transistor. However, during each transition of the input waveform, there is an instant of time when both the NMOS and PMOS transistors will conduct simultaneously. This will permit current to flow directly from the power supply terminal (Vcc) to the common terminal (ground) through a relatively low impedance, thus dissipating unnecessary power. This phenomenon is known as shoot-through dissipation, and since it increases with frequency (as the number of input transitions per unit of time increases), as well as with the size of the driver, the use of standard CMOS drivers is typically limited to low-frequency (i.e., below about 100 KHz) applications and smaller drivers.
For operation at moderately higher frequencies (i.e. from about 100 KHz to about 1 MHz) the two CMOS driver transistors can be provided with separate gate drive signals. Then, by using a timing circuit, it can be ensured that there will be a slight time delay between activation of one transistor of the CMOS pair and deactivation of the other transistor, so that both transistors will never be on simultaneously, thus substantially preventing shoot-through current from flowing between the power supply terminal and ground.
However, for operation at still higher frequencies (i.e. above 1 MHz), the output driver size typically becomes very large, so that typical timing circuits are not capable of driving the output transistors with sufficient speed. In order to overcome this difficulty, CMOS predriver circuits can be used to boost the driving capability of the timing circuit to drive the output driver stage. However, at these higher frequencies, the predrivers themselves can be quite large, and, if conventional CMOS stages are used as predrivers, significant shoot-through power will be dissipated in the predrivers during transitions. Thus, even with the use of a timing circuit and predrivers, the maximum operating frequency of prior-art CMOS driver circuits is still limited by shoot-through dissipation to about 1 MHz.
Optimally, it would be desirable to have a CMOS driver circuit capable of driving relatively large off-chip capacitive loads (in the range of 1 to 2 nF), such as the gate of a power transistor, at frequencies in the range of several MHz without dissipating significant power due to shoot-through current.

Low-power CMOS driver circuit capable of operating at high frequencies

Philips Electronics North America Corporation


Water-containing mixtures of at least one hydrocarbon/halocarbon and hydrochloric acid, e.g., the methyl chloride feedstream in conventional process for the synthesis of chloromethanes, are desiccated by intimately contacting such mixtures with an effective drying amount of an essentially anhydrous drying agent that includes (i) a metal sulfate, chloride or perchlorate, or (ii) phosphorus pentoxide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the drying of water-containing hydrocarbons, notably those hydrocarbons used in the production of chloromethanes.
This invention especially relates to the drying of optionally halogenated hydrocarbons which contain both water and hydrochloric acid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The drying of perchloroethylene using a solution of calcium chloride (Chem. Abstracts, Vol. 99,177849d) and in the absence of hydrochloric acid is known to this art. The drying of chloroform CHCl.sub.3 and carbon tetrachloride CCl.sub.4, after purification thereof by extraction with water (Chem. Abstracts, Vol. 62,2227e), with calcium chloride (CaCl.sub.2), but always in the absence of hydrochloric acid, is also known to this art.
Nonetheless, serious need exists in this art for a technique to dry hydrocarbons containing hydrochloric acid and water without concomitantly removing the hydrochloric acid. This problem is particularly acute in the synthesis of chloromethanes as they exit the chlorination reactor, where the chloromethanes are mixed with hydrochloric acid (in each instance that a hydrogen atom is substituted by a chlorine atom, one mole of hydrochloric acid is formed as a by-product) and with water which is introduced into the process as an impurity in the starting materials. In such process the water must be removed to prevent its accumulation and also to avoid clogging or blocking the pipelines with ice and hydrates. The hydrochloric acid is recovered and is then reclaimed by conversion into chlorine in a Deacon reaction or an oxychlorination reaction. If water is removed from this mixture of chloromethanes by condensation, then there is a risk, due to the great solubility of hydrochloric acid in water, of producing a solution of hydrochloric acid in water which is subsequently difficult to separate There is a risk that the disadvantage will be the same if it is desired to separate the water from this mixture using a drying agent.
Surprisingly, it has now unexpectedly been determined that hydrocarbons containing hydrochloric acid and water can be selectively dried, while retaining only water on the drying agent.

Drying of hydrocarbon/hydrochloric acid/water admixtures


A method is provided of refurbishing a quartz glass component which has been contaminated and eroded due to continuous use in a plasma process apparatus for semiconductor manufacturing. In the method, a surface deposit on the quartz glass component is removed by an appropriate cleaning method which is determined depending on the contamination status, and presence or absence of residual deposit on the cleaned component is carefully inspected through irradiating with light of a predetermined wavelength to cause fluorescence effect. Then the eroded portion of the quartz glass component is restored to the original state by flame treatment and precision machining. As a result, the refurbishment method can increase the mechanical strength of the quartz glass component, enhance the productivity and yield ratio through efficient use of the remaining materials of the quartz glass.

The present invention relates to a method of refurbishing a quartz glass component, in which the state of an attachment film of by-products (hereinafter called the "deposit"), erosion and deterioration of a quartz glass component that has been spent by using in a certain process of semiconductor manufacturing, for example, is carefully checked before cleaning the quartz glass component, an appropriate cleaning method is determined depending on the contamination status, the quartz glass component is cleaned with minimum damage to a base material, the residual deposit is precisely checked to thereby carefully select the quartz glass component and carry out refurbishment rationally. As a result, the refurbishment method can increase the mechanical strength of the quartz glass component which is made of brittle material, prevent breakage arising from growth of thermal stress and strain during a flame treatment in a refurbishment process, enhance the productivity and the yield ratio through efficient use of quartz glass materials, stabilize the quality and rationalize the refurbishment.
In a plasma processing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor or liquid-crystal device, the surface of the quartz glass component is eroded and deteriorated by continuous use in a plasma environment that contains fluorine or chlorine-based gas. Even though the quartz glass component is regularly discarded after the predetermined amount of erosion, it is so expensive that improvement of the situation has been desired.
Due to such demand, various methods have been proposed to remove and refurbish the eroded and deteriorated portion of the quartz glass component.
For example, there has been proposed a method in which the deposit on the surface of the quartz glass component, which is to be refurbished, consists of organic matter containing fluorine and is removed by using a chemical such as dilute hydrofluoric acid or by a grinding process. After removal of the deposit, a reaction surface, which has been eroded and deteriorated in the plasma environment, and its opposite surface are thickened through welding quartz rods with an oxygen-hydrogen flame burner. Then, after grinding thickened sides into the predetermined thickness, both surfaces are finished to an original state by precision machining and cleaning. (For example, see patent document 1.)
Another refurbishing method of the quartz glass component also has been proposed. The quartz glass component with a step design on the surface, which is to be refurbished, having the reaction surface by plasma is cut near the periphery thereof, and the plate-like portion including the eroded area is separated from the outer portion with no erosion. Then, the plate-like portion with the erosion area is discarded, and is renewed with a new material that has almost the same shape as the original. The new one is welded to the separated outer portion for refurbishment. (For example, see patent document 2.)
Further, another refurbishing method of the quartz glass component has been proposed. In a quartz glass component with a step design on the surface, which is to be refurbished, a contamination layer of a plate-like portion including the eroded area is removed by a grinding process, and its surface is finished to mirror polish. Then, a new plate having almost the same shape as the plate-like portion is manufactured, and the one side of the new plate is finished to mirror polish. The mirror surface of the new plate is contacted with the mirror surface of the existing component. The contact surface is bonded by applying a high pressure to each plate and by heating in a vacuum furnace to a high temperature. (For example, see patent document 3)
However, the conventional method described above has the following problems. The surface deposit on the quartz glass component is removed by using a chemical such as dilute hydrofluoric acid or by a grinding process, and cleaning with a chemical such as dilute hydrofluoric acid is again performed to remove residual impurities before the flame treatment. Thus, the repetitive cleaning damages the surface of the base material, and significantly changes dimension and surface state of the portion in which refurbishment is not originally necessary. Moreover, it is difficult to confirm whether fine deposit remaining in microcracks on the surface of the base material has been totally removed. Thus, quality of the quartz glass component, relative to which the processing treatment is to be performed, is not uniform.
The process of the above-described refurbishment method has the following problem. Entire surfaces of the reaction surface and its opposite side is thickened by flame-welding, so that the base material is breakable due to the effect of thermal stress and strain generated in a wide area.
Moreover, there are the following problems for the refurbishment of the quartz glass component having a step design on the surface. A newly-manufactured part is welded to the whole area of the joint of the existing quartz glass component from which the contaminated portion has been separated, thereby lowering the yield ratio and use efficiency of quartz materials. Further, quartz material is breakable due to the effect of thermal stress and strain generated in the wide area, so that it requires much skill to weld the large area. Thus, such a processing treatment results in the low productivity.

Method of refurbishing a quartz glass component


This invention relates to a method and system for increasing the utilization of the supply of acetylene from two acetylene sources. The flow is provided at a substantially constant delivery pressure to a point of use, such as a customer point of use. A portable apparatus is configured to operably connect to each of the two acetylene sources simultaneously and during operation automatically provide flow from one of the acetylene sources through various valving and piping assembled onto the portable apparatus followed by supply to a customer point of use.

There are many operations that utilize large amounts of acetylene, making the use of a single cylinder at a time impractical. In these instances, as an alternative, several cylinders can be interconnected and used in combination with a manifold to provide a constant source of acetylene to an operation. A conventional arrangement involves cylinders that are delivered to the worksite or customer point of use where they are interconnected together with a manifold. Equipment may be utilized to regulate the delivery of acetylene to a point of use. However, such a manifold of cylinders contains numerous drawbacks. For example, the supply of acetylene can be interrupted due to delays in switching from an empty acetylene source to a fresh acetylene source. Additionally, there is generally a lack of proper monitoring means for ensuring when the acetylene supply system has deviated from preset operational limits. Still further, the cylinders generally have to be transported to a refilling station when the delivery pressure drops below a predetermined set point.
More recently, in an attempt to more effectively supply larger amounts of acetylene in comparison to cylinders which are interconnected by a manifold, multiple cylinders have been arranged on a trailer and then used at a site while remaining on the trailer. Such an approach eliminates the unloading and reloading of the cylinders at the point of use, thereby making it easier to replace empty cylinders with filled cylinders. However, such acetylene trailer arrangements still suffer numerous drawbacks, including interruptions in supply of acetylene to the point of use as a result of delays occurring during switchover from an empty trailer to a new trailer. Additionally, conventional acetylene trailer systems continue to lack proper monitoring means for ensuring when the acetylene supply system has deviated from preset operational limits.
Interrupted supply of acetylene typically leads to significant downtime, production costs and unacceptable reduction in throughput. In view of such drawbacks, there is a need for improved acetylene supply systems.

Method and system for optimizing acetylene delivery


In a lighting system for motor vehicles, light from a HID or MPXL lamp is collected by a collector which surrounds the light source at least partly and is guided further to a separator of optical waveguide material, which separator forms a desired light beam via a specially shaped light outlet surface so as to obtain as high as possible a light output.

The invention relates to a lighting system, in particular for motor vehicles, and to a method of generating a light beam of desired shape.
Lighting systems and associated methods of generating light beams have been known for a long time in a wide variety of shapes. It is common to all relevant lighting systems and methods that light is generated by means of a light source, which light is then shaped into a beam by various optical means, such that the light beam of desired shape is obtained. Light sources particularly widely used in the field of motor vehicles are halogen incandescent lamps, and in recent years increasingly gas discharge lamps, more in particular low-voltage gas discharge lamps such as, for example, so-called MPX lamps (Micro Power Xenon lights). The discharge lamps do indeed have major advantages over incandescent lamps as regards their useful life and power dissipation, but the light arc generated thereby has no exact demarcation, in contrast to a coil of an incandescent lamp, and is accordingly optically and photometrically more difficult to control.
To form the desired light beam from the light generated by the light source, first of all parabolic reflectors are known, which project the light source directly onto the surface to be illuminated, i.e. onto the road surface in the case of motor vehicles. The final beam composition is achieved by means of a divergent lens, usually a combination of prismatic and cylindrical lens arrays, which closes off the lighting system at the front. In addition, projection systems are known in which an elliptical reflector pictures the light source at a distance of a few centimeters in front of the lamp. A metal plate is present adjacent this plane in motor vehicle headlights as a mechanical cut-off diaphragm of special shape so as to generate a light-dark edge necessary for a passing beam. A projection lens images this cut-off and the light source on the road surface. Very high-contrast light-dark edges can be generated by this principle of beam generation, but they do show a clear color edging effect.
An improvement of the beam properties is achieved through the use of so-called complex-shape or profiled reflectors. The geometry of the reflector is calculated in small segments with a view to their effect on the headlight beam. A reflector geometry is created thereby which differs from classical rotational (elliptical or parabolic) surfaces. It is possible with complex-shape reflectors in headlights containing halogen incandescent lamps to achieve a sufficiently high contrast at the light-dark edge without a screen cap. A dispersing front lens for influencing the beam can be dispensed with thanks to the improved reflector geometry in the case of such reflectors. A clear cover disc suffices in this case.
High requirements are imposed on the positioning of the light source in the reflector in the known lighting systems with wide-aperture reflectors, which collect the light from the light source and thus build up the headlight beam. This is particularly apparent with the use of gas discharge lamps as the light source, because the light arc does not have sharp boundaries, in contrast to the coil of incandescent lamps.
Increasingly stringent requirements imposed on the beam quality also imply increasingly stringent requirements on the positioning of the light source in the reflector. Since this light source should as a rule be supported so as to be exchangeable, the exact positioning poses a problem. On the one hand, the lamps should be capable of exchange in a simple and fast manner, while on the other hand they must be securely and accurately fastened, and it must be possible to manufacture the fastening devices in use at an affordable cost. This has the result that manufacturing tolerances of the fastening devices used limit the effectivity and the light power of the entire system.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide a lighting system, in particular for motor vehicles, and a method of generating a light beam of desired shape wherein the exact positioning of the light source relative to the other optical components only has a minor influence on the light output and the efficiency of the entire system, and on the generation of the desired light beam.
This object is achieved by means of a lighting system, in particular for motor vehicles, which comprises at least one light source, preferably in the form of a high-power discharge lamp (HID lamp: High Intensity Discharge lamp), in particular a low-voltage xenon lamp (MPXL: Micro Power Xenon Light), a collector which surrounds the light source at least partly for collecting and passing on the light generated by the light source to at least one separator, and at least one separator of optical waveguide material, while each separator comprises at least one specially shaped light outlet surface for radiating the light, which was guided into the separator, as a light beam of defined shape.
The arrangement according to the invention has a considerable number of advantages. Thus it is made possible to generate the clearly defined light-dark edge required, for example, for the passing beam in the field of motor vehicles through a suitable construction of the collector without absorption and to image this edge by means of one or preferably several separators. Until now, by contrast, the edge was generated by means of cut-off diaphragms, which block out part of the generated light and thus reduce the efficiency of relevant lighting systems unnecessarily. In a lighting system according to the invention, however, practically the entire quantity of light generated by the light source(s) can be utilized for illumination, so that a very high efficiency is achieved.
A further major advantage of the arrangement according to the invention is that very compact lighting systems can be realized thereby, whose constructional dimensions are strongly reduced in comparison with conventional systems.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the light source, the collector, and the separator(s) are arranged such that a so-called interwoven radiation path is obtained. For this purpose, the separator(s) and the collector are arranged relative to one another such that part of the image of the light source generated by the collector lies within the range of the entrance pupil of each separator. A separation of the lighting beam path (of the image of the light source) and imaging beam path (of the image of the object to be imaged, i.e. the collector in this case) is advantageously achieved in this manner, so that the light outlet surface(s) thereof can generate sharp light-dark edges.
If the light-dark edge lies adjacent or in a pupil of the lighting beam path, an inaccurate alignment of the light source will not or substantially not affect the contrast of the light-dark edge. According to the invention, the collector, with sharp edges regarded as the object lying in its emission surface, takes over the function of the known condenser lenses or the optical lighting system.
In particular, the size of the light source in this arrangement has practically no influence on the aperture in the headlight beam, but only on the diameter of the separators. By contrast, the light source is directly imaged onto the road surface in headlights for motor vehicles presently on the market, i.e. each segment of the reflector generates a sharp picture of the incandescent coil or the light arc on the road surface.
If the diameter of the separators is greater than or at least equal to the size of the virtual light source image, the radiation beam is not cut off, and the efficiency of the lighting system will be very high.
The dissociation of the shape of the radiated light beam from the size and alignment of the incandescent coil renders it possible to keep the aperture of the light beams originating from the light source small without the usual photometric problems, a small aperture being desired as a rule because the constructional dimensions of the collector are directly dependent on this aperture if the collector is to operate with a very high efficiency. Light sources with an aperture of less than 60xc2x0, preferably between 20xc2x0 and 40xc2x0 and even lower, may be used.
The interwoven beam path furthermore leads to an increase in the efficiency also with the use of conventional discharge lamps, because light can now also be utilized which is scattered in the so-called salt reservoir formed during operation of such discharge lamps. The interwoven beam path means that the arc need no longer be sharply pictured into the headlight beam, so that a stronger scattering of the light only has a minor influence on the beam.
If a discharge lamp with a lamp bulb is to be used as the light source, discharge lamps with a cylindrical or sagged bulb shape were found to be particularly suitable.
The collector is preferably constructed as a solid component and is formed by a transparent, heat-resistant material, preferably glass. Depending on which light source is used, the collector may alternatively be formed from a synthetic resin with optical waveguide properties, which may have advantages as regards weight compared with glass. The great heat arising with the use of conventional gas discharge lamps, however, implies that only few synthetic resins are suitable as collector materials.
The collector preferably has an annular light outlet surface, so that advantageously many applications can be served with one and the same xe2x80x9cstandardizedxe2x80x9d collector shape through the use of different separators.
Depending on the shape of the desired light beam and the application, it may suffice to arrange only one separator behind the collector. It was found to be particularly suitable, however, especially for generating the light beam desired for the passing beam in the field of motor vehicles, to distribute the light from the collector over several, preferably six to ten separators, and then to superimpose the light beams radiated by the separators so as to form the light beam of desired shape.
If scattering of the light issuing from the separator(s) is desired, the light outlet surfaces of the separators may for this purpose have a structure similar to that of a dispersing lens. This has the advantage that a separate dispersing lens, and accordingly a further material-air-material transition of the light, which is always accompanied by light losses, can be omitted.

Lighting system, in particular for motor vehicles, and method of generating a light beam of desired shape


A display with a micro light modulators including a transparent substrate, a plurality of fixed electrodes on the substrate, a plurality of movable electrodes over and between the fixed electrodes, each movable electrode having a size different from one another and overlapping portions of adjacent fixed electrodes, and a back light on a back surface of the substrate.

The present invention claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. P2000-42849 filed in Korea on Jul. 25, 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to displays, and more particularly, to a display with micro light modulators in which light is modulated for displaying a picture.
2. Background of the Related Art
For the next generation of display, there has been active research on different types of Flat Panel Displays (FPDs). The most popular displays of this research have been the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) that employs the electro-optical properties of liquid crystal and the Plasma Display Panel (PDP) that employs plasma induced by electron discharge.
The LCD not only has the drawbacks of a narrow viewing angle and a slow response to video signals, but also has a complicated fabrication process since the Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) and electrodes used in a LCD are formed using semiconductor fabrication processes. Although the PDP has an advantage of a simple fabrication process that is desirable for manufacturing large sized displays, the PDP has the drawbacks of a high power consumption, low luminance due to poor discharge efficiency and relatively high cost.
There has been a development of a new display that solves the foregoing problems in flat panel displays. The new display uses a micro light modulator having Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS), an extra hyperfine machining technology, in every pixel for displaying a picture.
A related art display with a micro light modulator will be explained with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a plan view of a representative related art display with micro light modulator.
Referring to FIG. 1, the related art display with micro light modulator is provided with a plurality of fixed electrodes 13 formed in parallel at fixed intervals on a substrate 11, a plurality of movable electrodes 15 formed in parallel at fixed intervals over, between and in the same direction as the fixed electrodes 13. The ends of the movable electrodes 15 extend outward more than the ends of the fixed electrodes 13, and the sides of the movable electrodes 15 respectively overlap adjacent fixed electrodes 13 of the display.
When no voltage is applied between the fixed electrode 13 and the movable electrode 15, the movable electrode 15 is separated by a distance from the fixed electrode, and thus light from back light (not shown) under a substrate 11 is transmitted through to a display surface above the movable electrode. When a voltage is applied between the fixed electrode 13 and the movable electrode 15, the movable electrode 15 is brought into contact with the fixed electrode 13, and thus no light is transmitted through.
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate cross sections along line A-Axe2x80x2 in FIG. 1, wherein it can be seen that the fixed electrodes 13 are formed in parallel at fixed intervals on the substrate 11, and the movable electrodes 15 are formed so as to be overlapped with the fixed electrodes 13 on both sides thereof. The fixed electrodes 13 are formed as stripes on the substrate 11. Both ends of the movable electrodes 15 are affixed (not shown) to the substrate 11 and the central portion of the movable electrodes 15 is separated by a distance from the fixed electrodes 13. The central portion of the movable electrodes 15 is movable in up and down direction in response to an electrical signal applied between the movable electrodes 15 and the fixed electrodes 13.
FIG. 2A illustrates a cross section showing the electrodes of a representative portion of the display, e.g. a pixel in an off state. Initially, incident light from a back light 19 on a back side of the substrate 11 emanates through a space between the fixed electrodes 13 and the movable electrodes 15. A preset level of voltage applied between the fixed electrodes 13 and the movable electrodes 15 induces an attraction between the fixed electrode 13 and the movable electrode 15 through an electrostatic force. As result of the application of a preset voltage, the movable electrodes 15 come into contact with adjacent fixed electrodes 13 and thus, turns the pixel off by cutting off the incident light from a back light 19 on a back side of the substrate 11.
As shown in FIG. 2B, when no voltage is applied between the fixed electrodes 13 and the movable electrodes 15, the movable electrodes 15 are maintained at or restored to an original state by elastic force to being separated by a distance from the fixed electrodes 13. The distance between the fixed electrodes 13 and the movable electrode 15 enable incident light from the back light 19 to transmit so as to turn on the pixel. For reference, the elastic material layer 17 positioned under the movable electrodes 15 is used for the elastic force.
FIG. 2C illustrates a section along line B-Bxe2x80x2 in FIG. 1, wherein it can be seen that the ends of the movable electrodes 15 are formed on the substrate 11 at fixed intervals. Since the related art display with a micro light modulator has movable electrodes 15 that all have the same width and length, all of the movable electrodes 15 will move simultaneously at the same driving voltage level. The relationship of transmissivity through the related art micro light modulator and driving voltage V between the fixed electrodes 13 and the movable electrodes 15 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The driving voltage at which there is no transmissivity through a micro light modulator is known as the threshold voltage.
Referring to FIG. 3, since the related art micro light modulator has essentially only two levels of transmissivity, it is required that the related art display be driven by a time-division driving circuit for implementing gray levels, in which timing for applying a voltage to a given pixel is constantly changed. Therefore, the related art requires additional driving circuitry, which makes the overall circuitry for the display complicated.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a display with micro light modulators that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a display with micro light modulators, in which a micro light modulators is used for implementing a gray level without a separate driving circuit.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the display with micro light modulators includes a transparent substrate, a plurality of fixed electrodes on the substrate, a plurality of movable electrodes over and between the fixed electrodes, each movable electrode having a size different from one another and overlapping portions of adjacent fixed electrodes, and a back light on a back surface of the substrate.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display with a micro light modulator including a substrate, a plurality of fixed electrodes on the substrate, a plurality of movable electrodes each having first micro supports at both lengthwise ends and a second micro support at a location between the first micro supports, wherein each of the movable electrodes has a second micro support at a location different location from the other movable electrodes, and wherein each of the movable electrodes are formed over and between the fixed electrodes, and overlaps portions of adjacent fixed electrodes, and a back light on a back surface of the substrate.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display with a micro light modulator including a substrate, a plurality of fixed electrodes on the substrate, a plurality of movable electrodes each having at least one micro support, wherein each of the movable electrodes overlap with portions of adjacent ones of the fixed electrodes, an insulating material layer positioned under each of the movable electrodes; and a back light on a back surface of the substrate.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.


A medical device for placing an embolic coil at a preselected location within a vessel comprising a positioning catheter having a distal tip for retaining the embolic coil which when pressurized with a fluid expands outwardly to release the coil at the preselected position and including an embolic coil having a relatively flexible proximal portion which resists stretching.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical device for placing an embolic coil at a preselected location within a vessel of the human body, and more particularly, relates to a catheter having a distal tip for retaining the embolic coil in order to transport the coil to a preselected position within the vessel and a control mechanism for releasing the embolic coil at the preselected position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years flexible catheters have been used to place various devices-within the vessels of the human body. Such devices include dilatation balloons, radiopaque fluids, liquid medications and various types of occlusion devices such as balloons and embolic coils. Examples of such catheter devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,407, entitled "Method And Apparatus For Placement Of An Embolic Coil"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,136, entitled, "Endovascular Electrolytically Detachable Guidewire Tip For The Electroformation Of Thrombus In Arteries, Veins, Aneurysms, Vascular Malformations And Arteriovenous Fistulas." These patents disclose devices for delivering embolic coils to preselected position within vessel of the human body in order to treat aneurysms or alternatively to occlude the blood vessel at the particular location.
Coils which are placed in vessels may take the form of helically wound coils, or alternatively, may be random wound coils, coils wound within other coils or many other such coil configurations. Examples of various coil configurations are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,210, entitled, "Vascular Occlusion Assembly; U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,259, entitled, "Vasoocclusion Coil With Attached Tubular Woven Or Braided Fibrous Coverings." Embolic coils are generally formed of a radiopaque metallic materials, such as platinum, gold, tungsten or alloys of these metals. Often times several coils are placed at a given location in order to occlude the flow of blood through the vessel by promoting thrombus formation at the particular location.
In the past, the proximal end of embolic coils have been placed within the distal end of the catheter and when the distal end of the catheter is properly positioned the coil may then be pushed out of the end of the catheter with, for example a guidewire, to release the coil at the desired location. This procedure of placement of the embolic coil is conducted under fluoroscopic visualization such that the movement of the coil through the vasculature of the body may be monitored and the coil may be placed in the desired location. With these placements systems there is very little control over the exact placement of the coil since the coil may be ejected to a position some distance beyond the end of the catheter. As is apparent, with these latter systems, when the coil has been released from the catheter it is difficult, if not impossible, to retrieve the coil or to reposition the coil.
Numerous procedures have been developed to enable more accurate positioning of coils within a vessel. Still another such procedure involves the use of a glue or solder for attaching the embolic coil to a guidewire which, is in turn, placed within a flexible catheter for positioning the coil within the vessel at a preselected position. Once the coil is at the desired position, the coil is restrained by the catheter and the guidewire is pulled from the proximal end of the catheter to thereby cause the coil to be detached from the guidewire and released from the catheter system. Such a coil positioning system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,964, entitled, "Coaxial Traction Detachment Apparatus And Method."
Another coil positioning system utilizes a catheter having a socket at the distal end of the catheter for retaining a ball which is bonded to the proximal end of the coil. The ball, which is larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the coil, is placed in a socket within the lumen at the distal end of the catheter and the catheter is then moved into a vessel in order to place the coil at a desired position. Once the position is reached, a pusher wire with a piston at the end thereof is pushed distally from the proximal end of the catheter to thereby push the ball out of the socket in order to thereby release the coil at the desired position. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,397, entitled, "Axially Detachable Embolic Coil Assembly." One problem with this type of coil placement system which utilizes a pusher wire which extends through the entire length of the catheter and which is sufficiently stiff to push an attachment ball out of engagement with the socket at the distal end of the catheter is that the pusher wire inherently causes the catheter to be too stiff with the result that it is very difficult to guide the catheter through the vasculature of the body.
Another method for placing an embolic coil is that of utilizing a heat releasable adhesive bond for retaining the coil at the distal end of the catheter. One such system uses laser energy which is transmitted through a fiber optic cable in order to apply heat to the adhesive bond in order to release the coil from the end of the catheter. Such a method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,407, entitled, "Method And Apparatus For Placement Of An Embolic Coil." Such a system also suffers from the problem of having a separate element which extends throughout the length of the catheter with the resulting stiffness of the catheter.
Still another method for placing an embolic coil is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/177,848, entitled "Embolic Coil Hydraulic Deployment System," filed on Oct. 21, 1998 and assigned to the same assignee as the present patent application. This patent application discloses the use of fluid pressure which is applied to the distal tip of the catheter for expanding the lumen in order to release the embolic coil.
Various embolic coil designs have been proposed for use with coil deployment systems such as the stretch resistant vaso-occlusive coil disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,418, entitled "Stretch Resistant Vaso-occlusive Coils," which discloses a helically wound coil having a polymeric stretch resisting member extending through the lumen of the coil and fixedly attached to both the distal end and the proximal end of the coil. While the stretch resisting member prevents the coil from being stretched during use, this member which extends throughout the length of the coil tends to significantly reduce the flexibility of the coil. This reduced flexibility may present problems because in order to place vaso-occlusive coils into a desired location and have the coil property employ it is very important that the coil be very flexible.

Embolic coil deployment system with improved embolic coil


A memory and method of manufacture employing word line scaling. A layered stack, including a charge trapping component and a core polysilicon layer, is formed on a core section and a peripheral section of a substrate. A portion of the layered stack, including the core polysilicon layer is then removed from the peripheral section. A peripheral polysilicon layer, which is thicker than the core polysilicon layer of the layered stack, is next formed on the layered stack and the peripheral section. The layered stack is then isolated from the peripheral polysilicon layer by removing a portion of the peripheral polysilicon layer from the core section, and polysilicon lines are patterned in the isolated layered stack.

A memory, such as a random access memory (RAM) or read only memory (ROM) often includes arrayed memory cells. Typically, each of the memory cells is coupled to at least one bit line and an overlapping word line, and each of the memory cells include a memory element that is configured to store a logic state. In operation, a controller reads from and/or writes to an individual memory element by receiving and transmitting signals over the bit and word lines of the memory.
Flash-based memories employ closely spaced and arrayed core memory cells. Peripheral devices, such as transistors and other devices, communicate voltage/current signals to a core cell array over the bit and word lines of the memory. In one example, the peripheral devices can include field effect transistors that are located adjacent to the core cell array and controlled through a corresponding gate.

Method and device employing polysilicon scaling


Solid solutions comprise a water-soluble thermoplastic resin and a microbicide dissolved therein. These solutions may be added to a rigid thermoplastic resin composition to impart biocidal characteristics thereto. If the microbicide is water-insoluble, the solid solutions may be used to prepare stable dispersions of the microbicide. The solutions also provide for slow release of a microbicide or as a vehicle for providing microbicide to an aqueous solution.

It is known to protect various thermoplastic resin compositions against fungal or bacterial attack by incorporating a microbicide therein to prevent the deterioration of articles formed from the resin compositions. Microbicide inhibit growth of bacteria or fungi by acting upon the cell wall or upon cell proteins, e.g., by attacking disulfide bonds. In order for the microbicide to be effective in the resin composition, it is necessary that it be compatible with the components of the resin composition and be uniformly dispersible in the resin composition. The microbicide must be carried by the resin composition in a manner that it remains biologically active against microorganisms, and, in particular, must be available at the surfaces, including internal pore surfaces. Incorporation of microbicides in resin compositions is generally effective only in compositions in which the microbicide is able to slowly migrate to the surfaces. In some cases, the microbicide migrates slowly through amorphous regions of the polymer. In other cases, biocide migration is facilitated by plasticizers which are included along with the polymeric resins in end-use resin compositions. As the microbicide at the surfaces in used up through action against microorganisms, additional microbicide migrates to the surfaces. Although a microbicide may be a highly toxic chemical, its low concentration in the end-use product and its retention by the resin composition ensures that the microbicide in the end-use product poses no hazard to humans or animals.
Microbicides must be available in a form that is readily dispersible into the formulation mix from which the end-use resin composition is fabricated. The powdered or crystalline form in which many useful microbicides are commercially available are readily dispersible; however, at the site of mixing, powdered or crystalline microbicides pose a substantial environmental and health hazard if powder or crystal fines are dispersed into the atmosphere. Furthermore, powder, or powdered fines, if dispersed into the atmosphere, represent a potential explosive hazard.
Recognizing the toxicity problem of microbicides in powder or crystalline form, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 29,409 teaches dissolving microbicides in liquid solvents which may be added to the formulation mixture from which the end-use resin compositions are fabricated. Although liquid dispersions may be safely used at the site of preparing end-use resin compositions, careless use or disposal of the liquids may still pose environmental and health hazards.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,297 issued Apr. 25, 1978 to Rei, et al., the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes solid thermoplastic microbicide resin concentrates containing immobilized microbicides. These solid microbicide resin concentrates contain relatively high concentrations of microbicides and may be added to the formulation mixtures from which the end-use resin compositions are prepared in an amount sufficient to provide the desired end-use microbicide concentrations. The solid microbicide resin concentrates, which are typically provided in the form of small pellets, can be handled freely, posing substantially no health or environmental threat. Such pellets are even safe for direct skin contact. Although microbicides are sufficiently immobilized and inactive in the solid microbicide resin concentrates, in softer end-use resin compositions, the low concentration microbicides at the surface have biological activity, and gradual and continuous migration to surfaces ensures continuous biological activity. Where practical, a solid microbicide resin concentrate represents a preferred manner of providing a microbicide to producers of end-use thermoplastic products.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,692, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference, discloses blends of polymers and also copolymers and terpolymers that are particularly suitable for carrying concentrated levels of microbicides into particular thermoplastic resins.
In order that inclusion of a microbicide impart biocidal activity to an end-use product, the microbicide must be available at the surface to act against microbial growth. In a flexible end-use composition, which comprises a thermoplastic resin and a plasticizer, the plasticizer commonly provides the transport mechanism for continual replenishment of incorporated microbicide to the surface of the end-use article. A typical product of this nature is a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) shower curtain which contains substantial amounts of plasticizer and sufficient microbicide to protect the shower curtain from microbial attack for an extended period of time.
On the other hand, rigid polymeric materials may be afforded substantially no protection by the inclusion of microbicides because the incorporated microbicide does not migrate to the surface where it is available to act against microbial organisms. An example of this is rigid PVC, such as that for siding of houses. Unlike flexible, plasticized PVC compositions, rigid, non-plasticized PVC is not particularly subject to degradation by microbial attack. Nevertheless, microbial growth on the surface of such rigid polymeric material is undesirable, particularly from an aesthetic standpoint.
It is a primary object of the invention to provide solid concentrates of microbicides-in-resins that can be used to provide biocidal activity to rigid thermoplastic resins. Other objects and advantages will become more fully explained in the following description of the invention.

Microbicides immobilized in water soluble thermoplastic resins and aqueous dispersions of microbicides prepared therefrom