A device (600) for performing at least part of an analytical process comprises a communicator (605) to facilitate communication with the device, and a data handler (610) to handle data of the analytical process and/or the device. In an embodiment, the device (600) is a consumable device and/or a microfluidic device. A method for performing at least part of an analytical process using a device comprises the steps of: (a) introducing a sample into the device; (b) handling data associated with the test using a data handler of the device; and (c) facilitating communications about the test using a communicator of the device. In another embodiment, the method is performed using a consumable device and/or a microfluidic device.

In the discussion that follows, reference is made to certain structures and/or methods. However, the following references should not be construed as an admission that these structures and/or methods constitute prior art. Applicants expressly reserve the right to demonstrate that such structures and/or methods do not qualify as prior art.
Instruments of many different configurations are known. For example, certain types of instruments control experiments or collect information from an environment or unit or material(s) under test. By way of example only, such instruments include digital multimeters, oscilloscopes, DNA sequencers, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, pH sensors, or the like.
Historically, instrumentation has developed from the use of discrete instruments that are dedicated to a single function and manually operated, such as a centrifuge or spectrophotometer, to instrumentation systems that integrate multiple processes. Such multiple process instruments typically require complicated or multi-step procedures be manually performed by a user to operate the individual instruments. In some cases, discrete instrument systems have been combined and automated in an effort to reduce costs and increase productivity. Examples of such combined instruments include the integration of large liquid handling robotic workstations. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 having a fully reusable instrument 110 that contains all operational components (e.g., user interface, CPU/control systems, detector systems, process controllers, fluid handling, data storage, and power module).
To reduce sample cross contamination, the fixed sample handling components of some instruments, such as the plumbing and fluid containers, have been replaced in many applications with disposable components, such as plastic tubing, well plates, and centrifuge tubes.
Increasing interest in the development of micro-scale systems for the integration of instrumentation components has been brought about by the many advantages of miniaturisation. In particular, performance improvements can be achieved over traditional laboratory equipment in terms of automation, reproducibility, speed, cost and size.
Polymer-based microfluidic components have been developed as a cost effective alternative to silicon for simple, disposable components in instrumentation systems. However, these systems have been limited in complexity and the degree of integration because they involve externally driven fluid-handling components, sensors, and actuators. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,900,889, 6,810,713 and 6,408,878, and U.S. Patent Application Publications 2004/209354A and 2002/0148992A1 illustrate implementations of such systems. FIG. 2 illustrates a block, diagram of an exemplary system 200 that includes a reusable instrument 210, containing all operational components (e.g., user interface, CPU/control systems, detector systems, process controllers, data storage, and power module) except for fluid-handling components, which are located on a removable consumable device 205.
Polymer-based microfluidic devices which incorporate on-board sensors and actuators that interface to external instrumentation have also been developed, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,073,482, 6,896,778 and 6,103,033. The limitations of such devices include reliability, problems relating to the interface to connectors and problems associated with long interconnects (e.g., electromagnetic interference and susceptibility, line impedance, packaging and device size).
Smart Card polymer devices are known that contain memory modules and, in some cases, central processing units (CPU's) for use in personal identification, security, and payment applications. Examples of such Smart Cards are described in the ISO 7816 and ISO 7501 standards for identification cards, ISO 14443, ISO 10536, and ISO 15693 standards for RFID cards from the International Organization for Standardization, and GSM 11.11 from the Global System for Mobile Telecommunications standard. Smart Cards can be classified according to the type of chip they contain and type of interface they use to communicate with an external instrument. Generally, there are three different types of chips associated with Smart Cards grouped according to the functionality they provide, including memory-only, wired logic, and microcontroller based Smart Cards.
Memory-only Smart Cards include serial protected memory cards. Such cards provide for data storage capabilities, in a manner similar to magnetic stripe cards, but have greater data storage capacity and can be used with a lower cost reading device than magnetic-based cards. Memory-only Smart Cards do not contain logic or perform calculations, however, and simply store data with some cards also having data protection features.
Wired-logic Smart Cards contain a logic-based state machine that provides encryption and authenticated access to card memory and its contents. Wired-logic Smart Cards have a static file system supporting multiple applications, with optional encrypted access to memory contents, but the command set and file structure associated with these cards can only be changed by redesigning the integrated circuit (IC) on the card. FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 300 that includes an instrument 310, which interfaces with a Chip Card 305, containing logic and data storage.
Microcontroller Smart Cards, commonly referred to as "Smart Cards," contain a microcontroller with an operating system. The microcontroller executes logic, performs calculations and stores data in accordance with its operating system and on-board memory can be updated many times. FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 400 that includes an instrument 410, which interfaces with a Smart Card 405, containing a CPU and data storage.
All of these types of Smart Cards require an external instrumentation interface to operate that can be categorised as a contact or contact-less interface depending on how the electrical connection is implemented. Smart Cards may offer both types of interfaces by using two separate chips (sometimes called "hybrid cards") or a dual-interface chip.
Smart Cards with internal power supplies are known, and thin film batteries for such cards are currently being developed. Smart Cards with internal power supplies have been described for memory storage, such as for backup applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,657 describes a twin battery configuration for field programmable Smart Cards allowing the use of volatile memory.
Smart Card devices for autonomous operation are also known. For example, "Super Smart Cards" that incorporate graphical user interface (GUI) and interactive elements have been demonstrated and generally incorporate microprocessor, memory, battery, liquid crystal display (LCD) and membrane keypad components. Although these devices show increased functionality over the standard Chip and Smart Cards, none have been demonstrated with sensor or actuator control or with fluidic component integration.
Smart Cards with on-board biometric fingerprint sensor interfaces are known for use in some security applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,617 describes a fingerprint sensor module for insertion into a Smart Card, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,285 describes a Smart Card containing memory, microprocessor, input/output (I/O) and fingerprint biometric sensor components. International Patent Application Publication WO00161638A1 describes a more generic Smart Card for biometric sensing that is interfaced to internal or external sensors for measuring data, but because the device includes no provisions for actuator operation or sensor control or feedback, the device functionality is limited to basic sensor data acquisition.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,708 describes another example of a Smart Card operating as part of a sensor system. The Smart Card is interfaced to an electrocardiogram (ECG) device on a patient such that ECG data is collected and stored on the card before transporting the card to an external instrument for monitoring and processing. This configuration is limited in that it applies to ECG data measurement only and, even though some of the interface electronics may be placed on-board the card, the card only stores the acquired ECG data.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,778 describes using a blank Smart Card chip carrier module with an electrode having a semipermeable membrane in direct contact with an internal fluidic channel. However, this device does not provide for any on-chip electronics or integrated circuits interfaced to sensor or actuator components, allowing for only very limited automation and integration with an external instrument. U.S. Patent Application 2005/0031490 describes a sensor chip on a smart card electrode module, wherein the silicon sensor chip contains its own integrated electrode array with multiplexer and amplifier, and the sensor chip is encapsulated to have the sensitive area exposed to fluid and its electrical connections associated with the smart card electrode module. Although, like U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,778, the system described in U.S. Patent Application 2005/0031490 is still limited to this single architecture of the sensor chip directly connected to the smart card interface.
Low-cost disposable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) labels, called "Smart Labels," have been incorporated with sensor circuits for monitoring purposes. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2005/0088299 describes an RFID based sensor network, which acquires sensor data wirelessly through a reader and communicates with another instrument for processing the data, and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2005/174236 describes an RFID system, which comprises a transceiver, sensor system, and interface to identify, track and acquire the operational history of a product-during its life cycle. Both of these device configurations are limited in operation to responding to an external reader, which interrogates and provides power to the RFID sensor systems, and to providing only sensor and RFID data for processing by the external system. Further, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2005/0248455 describes an RFID sensor system that is limited to monitoring time and temperature to determine the freshness, or shelf life, of perishable items. While this device can periodically reactivate from a low power state to perform a monitoring function, it still requires communication to an external device upon interrogation.
Memory components have been incorporated into polymer-based microfluidic components for instrumentation systems, in which full control and monitoring are provided by an external instrument. FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary instrumentation system 500 containing all operational components (e.g., user interface. CPU/control systems, detector systems, process controllers, and power module), except for fluid-handling components, which are located on a removable consumable device 505 with data storage capability.
For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0248318 describes a removable biochip on a chip card with read/write-able memory, but provides no direct interface between the fluid or on-chip sensors or actuators. Thus, this configuration performs only a memory operation, and the fluidic component must be removed for processing with external instruments. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,085, U.S. Patent Application Publications 2002/155033A1 and 2005/0019213, and International Patent Application Publications WO 2003/082730A and WO 2004/112946 describe microfluidic systems incorporating memory components, but these devices are limited in that they incorporate only memory-based circuit components and include no self-operation capability and no electronic sensor or fluidic system interface on the device. Thus, such devices must operate interfaced with external instruments and are therefore limited by the associated interconnect problems. Further, such devices cannot perform autonomous or even semi-autonomous operations and provide no sensor and/or actuator monitoring, control, feedback, or signal enhancement.


A vehicle body structure of the present invention comprises a front pillar including a front pillar inner and a front pillar outer and provided in an up and down direction of a vehicle body, a front roof rail provided in an upper portion of the front pillar and extended in a lateral direction of the vehicle body, and a joint member provided between the front roof rail and the front pillar inner and jointing the front roof rail and the front pillar inner. In the vehicle body structure, a joint portion other than a joint portion of the joint member and a side edge portion at a body center side of the front pillar inner is configured to provide weaker joint, with respect to a load applied to the vehicle body obliquely from above, than joint provided by a joint portion of the joint member and the front roof rail. Thereby, the concentration of stress corresponding to the load can be avoided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure and, more particularly, to a vehicle body structure at an upper area of a front pillar where the front pillar, a front roof rail and a side roof rail are joined together.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle body structure having front pillars provided at the front of a vehicle compartment in an up and down direction, a front roof rail provided above the front pillars and extended in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, and side roof rails provided so as to be extended from upper ends of the front pillars toward the rear of the vehicle body, these front pillars, front roof rail and side roof rails are joined together at the front of the vehicle compartment.
As such a vehicle body structure, the technique disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-328560 can be cited. A front pillar in this gazette is configured in such a manner that side edges of a front pillar inner and side edges of a front pillar outer are joined together. Moreover, lower edges of the front pillars are joined to front edges of side sills provided at sides of the vehicle body in the longitudinal direction thereof.


A component shutter having a plurality of end caps for closing off the outermost longitudinal ends of each of a pair of side rails of the shutter and providing a decorative, finished appearance to the outermost longitudinal ends of each of the side rails. The end caps comprise a top portion and a tongue portion, with the tongue portion being sized to fit within a pocket formed between the side rail and either a top or bottom end rail. The tongue portion is slidably inserted into the pocket. The end cap forms a finished appearing edge surface for an end of the side rail of the shutter.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to decorative component shutters and more particularly to an end cap for use with a component shutter which provides a finished edge appearance to an edge of a side rail of the shutter.
2. Discussion
Decorative component shutters are used in a wide-variety of applications to provide a decorative appearance, typically to the exterior of buildings. Such shutters are typically placed on both sides of a window of a building, or even a door.
More recently, component shutter assemblies having individual component parts molded from various plastics have become popular. By "component" it is meant shutters which are quickly and easily assembled from several individual component parts which are molded independently of one another prior to assembly. Typically, such component parts are either injection molded or extruded from various thermoplastics.
The typical component shutter includes a pair of side rails, at least one louver or panel section which is engageable with a track portion of each side rail, and at least one end rail positioned at either an upper or lower end of the shutter. More typically, two end rails are used, one at the top of the side rails and one at the bottom of the side rails. By cutting the side rails and the center louvered or panel section to the desired length, the overall shutter length can easily be tailored to meet the needs of specific applications.
With component shutters the side rails are specifically intended to be cut to specific lengths prior to assembly of the shutter. The side rails are typically not formed with a cover or any form of cap at each outer end thereof to provide a finished appearance to the outermost ends of each side rail. While this could be accomplished by injection molding the side rail to include covers at each outermost end thereof, the resulting side rail would only be useable for a shutter having a specific length. Accordingly, this would require different injection molding tools to produce side rails of differing lengths which each have covered end portions. The high cost of injection molding tooling, however, would significantly add to the cost of each overall model (i.e., size) of shutter if the manufacturer was forced to use different molding tools to form side rails of different lengths. Thus, it is much more economical to use a single extrusion die to form a long section of side rail which may then be cut into two or more smaller lengths for use in assembling shutters having different overall lengths.
While the above-described method of extrusion molding long sections of side rail and then cutting each side rail to the length needed does promote economical manufacture of component shutters having various overall lengths, since the side rails are not formed with any end covering, each end of the side rail has a somewhat unfinished appearance once the shutter assembly is completely assembled. The ends of each side rail have an even more unfinished appearance if one or both of the ends have been cut prior to assembly of the shutter.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to be able to keep forming the side rails through extrusion molding techniques, which enables the side rails to be economically formed in long lengths and then cut to two or more smaller lengths, but to eliminate the unfinished appearing edges of the side rails. More specifically, it would be highly desirable to provide some form of additional component part which could be quickly and easily assembled to the outermost ends of each side rail to provide a finished appearance to each outermost end of each side rail of the shutter.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a means by which the exposed, cut edges of each side rail of a component shutter may be covered quickly and easily with a simple, additional assembly step to provide a finished appearance to each edge of each side rail of a component shutter.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an end cap for a component shutter assembly which may be quickly and easily slidably inserted into an exposed end portion of a side rail of a component shutter to thereby provide a finished looking edge surface to that particular end of the side rail.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an end cap for use with a component shutter, in which the end cap may be quickly and easily molded from a suitable thermoplastic to produce an inexpensive means for providing a finished looking edge to an outermost end of a side rail of the component shutter.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an end cap for covering an open end of a side rail of a component shutter, where the end cap may be quickly and easily inserted into the open end of the side rail during assembly of the shutter to thereby provide a decorative finished appearance to the outermost edge of the side rail.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a means for closing-off the exposed edge portions of the side rails of a component shutter without adding appreciably to the overall cost of the component shutter.

Support rail end cap for a component shutter


The present invention relates to a process for making a polyurea foamed backed product with a polyurethane skin. The process involves (a) providing a mold surface, (b) applying a polyurethane paint to the inner surface of the mold to provide a coated inner surface and (c) spraying at least one polyurea layer onto said coated inner surface to form an integral foamed backed polyurea product with a polyurethane skin.

Polyurethane-backed products with a polyurethane skin are well known for use as automobile dashboards. Unfortunately, the polyurethane materials will react with moisture in the air to generate CO.sub.2 which will cause the material to foam, reduce its density and generate various size voids in the polyurethane layer. The degree to which this occurs depends on humidity and in extreme cases, such as high humidity summer days, renders the process unusable. Control of this variable has previously required that costly humidity controls be installed on the spray booth air makeup units. Problems may also be encountered on extremely low humidity days in the winter, causing the material density to rise and its thickness to decrease, increasing material usage to achieve the desired thickness.
Polyurea materials, due to their intrinsic rapid reaction rates, are almost impervious to moisture variation. This is due to the fact that the polymer forming reaction is preferred over the reaction of the isocyanate with water to generate CO.sub.2. Therefore, there exists a need for a process which is insensitive to ambient moisture variation.

Process for making a polyurea backed product with a polyurethane skin


The present invention is directed to a device retention apparatus for an information handling system. The device retention apparatus includes a housing for mounting an information handling system device and a retaining portion located on the housing, the retaining portion for engaging the information handling system device when placed in the housing. A selection mechanism for securing the information handling system device to the housing is slideably connected to the housing. A locking ramp portion is included on a door assembly of the information handling system for engaging the selection mechanism.

The manufacture and assembly of information handling systems has become increasingly competitive. Manufacturers continually strive to improve the design and features of information handling systems yet still offer competitive prices. One such area of improvement is in the mounting of devices in an information handling system. An information handling system, such as a typical desktop system, tower, server, or the like, may include information handling system devices, such as disk drives, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drives, digital video disc (DVD) players, floppy drives, and the like. These devices are typically added to increase the functionality of the information handling system as may be desired by a user. However, the installation of these devices in the information handling system may be very labor intensive.
For instance, the installation of a hard disk drive in an information handling system may involve the use of screws, typically four, to attach the drive to a housing included in the system. Typically, these screws are small, making them difficult to manipulate and install. Additionally, because of their small size, the screws may be dropped by an assembler, possibly causing damage to the information handling system due to shorts, lodging in moving parts, and the like. Moreover, information handling systems become increasingly smaller with new advances in integrating parts, miniaturizing components, and the like. With this smaller size comes a corresponding lack of space, making it even more difficult to mount devices in an information handling system.
Further, the upgrade and repair of information handling system devices has become increasingly complicated. For example, a user may wish to add a new device such as a larger hard drive, a digital video disc (DVD) player, and the like to an information handling system; however, the removal of an old device may require the user to remove a plurality of screws to release the old device and the installation of additional screws to install the new device. This may require a significant amount of time and result in a loss of components, such as the screws and other attaching hardware.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an improved device retention apparatus.

Device retention apparatus locking assembly


To effect an accurate transmission of data between processing equipment and a plurality of peripheral devices, first and second interfaces are employed for reconstructing and transmitting the data over a communications link such as a conductor pair. The first interface termed a master terminal which is coupled to a common control module by way of a common control bus, receives instruction, address, and data information from the processor, and transmits a serial data code containing all this information to a plurality of second interfaces, termed slave terminals. Each slave terminal is coupled to a set of peripheral devices by a common bus and when a peripheral device recognizes its address being present in the code received from the master terminal, the slave terminal responds to complete the transaction with the master terminal and the addressed peripheral device.

In present day data processing and transmission systems, it is common practice to assign a common control processor the task of processing data received from and to be transmitted to a plurality of terminal equipment disposed at a plurality of locations which may be remotely located with respect to the processor. Such terminal equipment typically includes keyboard devices, numeric displays, operator displays, printers, cash drawers, etc., as common equipment at point of sales terminals. Transactions carried out by such terminal equipment require the exchange of data between the remote equipment and the processor, with real-time data handling.
In systems employing a common bus for transmission of serialized data, there has been a practical limit to the degree of remoteness or physical separation of the terminal equipment from the processor due to influences such as noise induced signal degradation, lack of drive, etc. Furthermore, confinement of all processing and memory to the processor not only makes data handling and processing entirely dependent upon the processor, but also reduces the speed at which transactions can be processed.

Distributed function communication system for remote devices


A transparent object can be converted into a visible image which is made up of a contrasted image of light and shade and therefore is readily perceivable with a three-dimensional illusion sensation by a method which comprises forming holograms with each of two collimated beams having slightly different angles of incidence and one reference beam, causing the reference beam to impinge upon the first hologram and thereby reproducing first order diffraction beams equivalent to the two collimated beams, then causing the reproduced diffraction beams to be passed through or reflected by the transparent object so as to impinge upon the second hologram and thereby reproducing diffraction beams laterally sheared and equivalent to the reference beam by which the second hologram was formed and imparting a suitable phase difference to these reproduced diffraction beams and thereby causing the beams to interfere with each other, whereby the phenomenon of interference thus produced on the surface of the object image gives rise to the visible image for desired observation.

This invention relates to a holographic shearing interference contrast method for the observation of a transparent object or phase object.
When a light passes through a phase object (hereinafter referred to merely as "object") which absorbs light, the light wave loses intensity. Since human eyes and photosensitive films are sensitive to such a variation in the light intensity, the image of such an object can be observed or recorded through an ordinary optical microscope. In the case of a perfectly transparent object, however, the image of the object cannot be observed through an ordinary optical microscope because the object does not absorb light. Whenever a light passes through any object, there is produced a lag in phase. To permit the observation of the object, therefore it becomes necessary for the phase difference of light to be converted into corresponding difference in intensity. One of the methods which are available for the purpose of this conversion is the phase contrast method which is employed such as in conventional phase contrast microscopes. According to this method, a diffraction beam which has passed through a given object and a beam which has advanced without passing through any obstacle are passed through a transparent object to give rise to a phase difference of .pi./2, namely, a contrast is given to the image of the article in proportion to the index of refraction of the transparent object.
The shearing interference method is also available for the aforementioned conversion. This method enables a transparent object to be observed in a shape made up of interference fringes. The shearing interference contrast method is the product of the combination of this shearing interference method and the aforementioned contrast method. Unlike the shearing interference method which resorts to observation of a shape made of several interference fringes rather difficult of discernment, the shearing interference contrast method enables the image of the object itself to be observed by virtue of variation in the light intensity instead of the shape made up of interference fringes. It is also capable of allowing observation of a slight variation in the index of refraction even smaller than the wavelength of light. This method obviates the necessity for a phase plate and other similar accessorial means.
The shearing interference contrast method accomplishes the desired observation of a given object by dividing the wavefront issuing from the object into two portions (amplitude division), shearing the divided wavefronts laterally, causing the two wavefronts to interfere with each other by giving them a phase difference equivalent to one fourth of the wavelength (.pi./2) and converting the variation in phase into a corresponding variation in light intensity. By this method, since the wavefront issuing from the object is divided into two portions and the phase between these two wavefronts is continuously varied, the image of this object can be observed in the form of the light and dark image obtained when a light diagonally impinges upon an uneven object. So far as a given object has its phase varied as described above or, in the absence of an uneven surface, has its index of refraction varied similarly, the image of the object can be observed in the form of light and shade so as to produce a three-dimensional illusion on the part of the observer.
Formerly the inventor suggested an interferometer which operates by the application of holograms to the shearing interference method ("Holographic shearing interferometer": U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,124, dated Oct. 3, 1978. The interferometer uses a set of two holograms each produced by the interference fringes due to two collimated planar beams having slightly different angles of incidence and one reference beam. These two holograms are set in position and the beam which has passed through a given object or has been reflected by the object is caused to impinge upon the first hologram as a reference light. Behind the first hologram, there are obtained two first order diffraction beams equivalent to the two collimated planar beams which have served the purpose of forming interference fringes on the first hologram. At this time, the two diffraction beams of the first hologram impinge at different positions on the object to cause object beams. This means that the diffraction beams are sheared by this difference in position. When the two object beams impinge upon the second hologram, they reproduce one first-order diffraction beam traveling in the same direction as the reference beam and give rise to interference fringes behind the second hologram. These are shearing interference fringes which occur when the wavefronts of a given object are laterally sheared by an amount to be determined by angles of incidence of the two collimated planar beams and the distance, between the first hologram and the second hologram and are consequently allowed to interfere with each other. The amount of this shearing can be adjusted by suitably varying the distance between the two holograms. The conventional holographic interference method necessitates use of one new hologram for each observation because the observation inevitably requires the information on the wavefront of the particular object under observation to be recorded on that hologram. The interferometer designed and operated by method permits the desired observation to be obtained on a virtually limitless number of objects because it incorporates a set of two holograms as a component part thereof and obviates the necessity for photographing the holograms at the time of each observation. Further, this method has an advantage that since the desired observation of an object which either passes or reflects beam can easily be obtained by merely having the object placed in the path of the reference beam, the interferometer is capable of providing effective observation even for large objects.
An object of this invention is to provide, through application of the holographic shearing interference method to the shearing interference contrast method, a shearing interference contrast method using holograms which, unlike the conventional contrast method which suffers from various disadvantages such as poor feasibility of manufacture, limited capacity of observation, mechanical instability and difficult adjustment, enjoys many advantages such as high resolving power, notable stability to withstand vibrations and other external impacts, wide field of observation, ease of adjustment and ability to provide heretofore unattainable quantitative measurement.
Another object of this invention is to provide an interferometer or interference microscope adapted for the holographic shearing interference contrast method mentioned above.

Holographic shearing interference contrast method and interferometer

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Ministry of International Trade & Industry


A structure for a display device and a display device are provided. A structure for a display device includes a surface of which at least a portion thereof is not flat, and another surface that is flat. A display device includes: a display panel; and a structure contacting the display panel, and at least some of a first surface of the display panel may have a first curved shape, the structure may have a second surface contacting the first surface of the display panel, at least a portion of the second surface of the structure may have a second curved shape, and the structure may include a third surface that is opposite the second surface and is flat, and a driver is attached and fixed to the flat third surface of the structure.

1. Field
Aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a structure for a display device and a display device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As technology has advanced, various portable display devices have been developed.
As the display device is portable, the display device is likely to be easily subjected to impact, and when the impact is applied to the display device, a contact failure between a display panel and a driver for transmitting a driving signal to the display panel is apt to occur, which may cause display defects.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Structure for display device and display device including the same


An advanced optical sensor and method for detection of optical events in a plasma processing system. The method includes detecting at least one light emission signal in a plasma processing chamber. The at least one detected light emission signal including light emissions from an optical event. The method further includes processing the at least one light emission signal and detecting a signature of the optical event from the processed light emission signal.

The present disclosure relates to detecting arcing events in a plasma processing system, and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for detecting light emission from an arcing event.
Plasma processing systems are used to process substrates by techniques including etching, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), ion implantation, and resist removal. Diagnostic tools are often used to monitor a state of the plasma in order to understand and minimize defects to substrates during the manufacturing process. One source of defects during plasma processing is related to arcing events. Arcing can cause material degradation of a wafer being processed, including undesirable sputtering of the substrate material, and can also cause damage to the plasma processing system itself. Other abnormal characteristics of the plasma can cause defects or lower yield of production devices.
The foregoing "Background" description is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the inventor, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.

Advanced optical sensor and method for detecting an optical event in a light emission signal in a plasma chamber


The present invention is a pompon made of double-sided polyester ribbon strands with permanently attached adjustable open-ended fastener made of hook and loop material that attaches to an outside object, preferably a vehicle, and is portable, durable, color-fade resistant, flame resistant, and washable. The present invention will not shred in the wind, such as a regular plastic pompon. The present invention may be taken off of a vehicle and placed on a person's hand, wrist, arm, etc., and used at a sporting event, and/or hung in a person's home or office when not in use. Other than to represent a sports team, the colors of the present invention may reflect a corporate insignia, or special causes, such as Breast Cancer Awareness, Support Our Troops, etc.

Many sports enthusiasts decorate their vehicles as they travel to a sporting event, and some place their regular plastic pom pons out their windows, with the windows rolled up to hold the pompon in place to prevent it from flying out the window. Currently, there is no prior art to show any way to display pompons with team colors on the outside of a vehicle. The present invention introduces a novel way to display a pompon in a secure way on the outside of a vehicle, even while it travels at high speeds down an interstate.
Because of the novel adjustable fastener that is permanently attached to the center gather of the pompom strands, the pompom may be safely and securely placed on the outside of a vehicle, and then removed and attached to a person's wrist, hand, or arm, etc. and used as a regular pompon typically would in a game, and/or it could be taken off the vehicle and displayed at home or the office.
The present invention is durable, and will not shred in the wind while attached to a vehicle, like a regular pompon made out of plastic could. The present invention may also be washed if it incurs dirt from the road, or food stuffs (ie., ketchup, etc) while being used at a game.
The present invention may be used to represent corporate colors and special causes colors, such as Breast Cancer Awareness, and 'Support the Troops' colors, in addition to a sports team colors.

Entertainment system for a portable, attachable, multi-faceted one-piece pom pon structure with secured, adjustable, open-ended fastener, optional handle structures, and vehicle attachment capability


A food supplement formulation comprises yi zhi ren, shan zhu yu, wu wei zi, ginseng, valerian root, passiflora incarnate, L-methionine, L-arginine, and a gender-specific complex selected from the group consisting of a mixture comprising beta-sitosteroi, saw palmetto, pollen extract, selenium, zinc, vitamin E, and lycopene, and a mixture comprising black cohosh, genistein, vitamin E, and cramp bark.

The present invention relates generally to a food supplement formulation. More particularly, the invention is directed to a food supplement formulation which may additionally aid bladder control.
Herbal and mineral formulations have been used as dietary supplements and natural medicaments for many years. In addition to providing compounds necessary to the human body for good nutrition, such formulations additionally may aid the body in dealing with a number of urinary tract maladies.
In addition to desiring a supplement to the daily diet, many persons suffer from a condition known as xe2x80x9coveractive bladder,xe2x80x9d wherein the patient has difficulty controlling urinary flow.
It would be desirable to prepare an herbal and mineral formulation that would act as a food supplement and might also simultaneously relieve the symptoms and manifestations of overactive bladder.
Accordant with the present invention, a beneficial herbal and mineral food supplement formulation has surprisingly been discovered. It comprises: yi zhi ren, shan zhu yu, wu wei zi, ginseng, valerian root, passiflora incarnata, L-methionine, L-arginine, and a gender-specific complex selected from the group consisting of a mixture comprising beta-sitosterol, saw palmetto, pollen extract, selenium, zinc, vitamin E, and lycopene, and a mixture comprising black cohosh, genistein, vitamin E, and cramp bark.
The food supplement formulation according to the present invention is useful to supplement the daily human diet, and additionally may be particularly useful as a bladder control agent.
The present invention is directed to a food supplement formulation comprising yi zhi ren; shan zhu yu; wu wei zi; ginseng; valerian root; passiflora incarnata; L-methionine; L-arginine; and a gender-specific complex selected from the group consisting of a mixture comprising beta-sitosterol, saw palmetto, pollen extract, selenium, zinc, vitamin E, and lycopene, and a mixture comprising black cohosh, genistein, vitamin E, and cramp bark.
Yi zhi ren is a well-known herb useful as an agent to ease abdominal pain and control urinary incontinence and loose bowels. Yi zhi ren may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 7 to about 22 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of yi zhi ren ranges between about 14.1 and about 16.6 weight percent.
Shan zhu yu is a well-known herb which acts to reduce bodily secretion such as, for example, to relieve excessive sweating and urinary flow. Shan zhu yu may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 7 to about 22 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of shan zhu yu ranges between about 14.1 and about 16.6 weight percent.
Wu wei zi is a well-known herb useful to control profuse sweating and chronic thirst. Wu wei zi may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 5 to about 15 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of wu wei zi ranges between about 10.7 and about 12.7 weight percent.
Ginseng is a well-known herb which acts to relieve dyspepsia, vomiting, and nervous disorders. Ginseng may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 3 to about 12 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of ginseng ranges between about 7.3 and about 8.6 weight percent.
Valerian root is a well-known herb useful to treat sleeplessness, muscle cramps, pain, and spasms. Valerian root may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 2 to about 7 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of valerian root ranges between about 3.6 and about 4.2 weight percent.
Passiflora incarnata is a well-known herb which acts as a sedative and aid in the treatment of spasms and nervousness. Passiflora incarnata may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 7 to about 22 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of passiflora incarnata ranges between about 14.1 and about 16.6 weight percent.
L-methionine is a well-known amino acid useful to assist detoxification of the human body. L-methionine may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 0.1 to about 1.5 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of L-methionine ranges between about 0.6 and about 0.8 weight percent.
L-arginine is a well-known amino acid which acts to aid the body""s immune system and as a precursor to the production of nitric oxide which assists bladder control. L-arginine may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 1 to about 10 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of L-arginine ranges between about 4.3 and about 5.1 weight percent.
Beta-sitosterol is a well-known herb useful to reduce levels of cholesterol in the human bloodstream and to block the absorption of cholesterol. Beta-sitosterol may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 2 to about 7 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of beta-sitosterol if present is about 4.3 weight percent.
Saw palmetto is a well-known herb which acts to improve the functioning of the prostate and urinary tract in men. Saw palmetto may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 4 to about 10 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of saw palmetto if present is about 6.9 weight percent.
Pollen extract is a well-known herbal product useful as an antioxidant. Pollen extract may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 3 to about 8 weigh percent. Preferably, the concentration of pollen extract if present is about 5.4 weight percent.
Selenium is a well-known mineral which acts as an antioxidant and to enhance the body""s immunity. Selenium may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 2 to about 7 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of selenium if present is about 4.3 weight percent.
Zinc is a well-known mineral useful as an anti-inflammation agent. Zinc may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 0.3 to about 3 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of zinc if present is about 1.1 weight percent.
Vitamin E is a well-known natural compound which acts as an antioxidant and to boost the human immune system. Vitamin E may be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 4 to about 15 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of vitamin E ranges between about 8.6 and about 10.2 weight percent.
Lycopene is a well-known compound useful as an antioxidant. Lycopene may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 0.2 to about 2 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of lycopene if present is about 0.6 weight percent.
Black cohosh is a well-known herb which acts to control diarrhea and alleviate general weakness. Black cohosh may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 1.2 to about 4 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of black cohosh if present is about 2 weight percent.
Genistein is a well-known compound useful to inhibit the growth of blood vessels in the human body. Genistein may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 2 to about 8 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of genistein if present is about 5.1 weight percent.
Cramp bark is a well-known herb which acts as an antispasmodic and astringent. Cramp bark may optionally be present in the inventive formulation at a concentration ranging from about 0.5 to about 3 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration of cramp bark if present is about 1.5 weight percent.
The aforementioned ingredients may be ground and mixed together by conventional mixing techniques. Thereafter, the powdered mixture may be pressed into tablets or placed in gelatin capsules for oral administration. The inventive food supplement formulation may additionally contain conventional fillers and extenders such as, for example, rice flower. Conveniently, the inventive food supplement formulation may be taken orally at a dosage rate ranging from about 500 to about 4,000 milligrams per day. Preferably, the dosage rate effective as a food supplement and possibly a bladder control agent ranges from about 1,800 to about 2,500 milligrams per day.
The inventive food supplement formulation is customized depending upon whether it might provide the additional benefit of bladder control for a man or a woman. Thus, the food supplement formulation is gender-specific.


An output-terminal device for an a.c. generator for a vehicle includes an output-terminal bolt which has a flat portion at its rear end, a polygonal flange portion at an intermediate portion and a threaded portion at its front end. The output-terminal bolt is connected at its flat portion to a connecting seat which is extended from an output side heat sink of a rectifier device attached to the rear bracket of the a.c. generator. An insulation cover is fitted to the rear bracket and supports an insulation terminal socket provided with a cylindrical portion at which bottom portion a polygonal opening is formed. The polygonal flange portion of the output-terminal bolt is fitted to the polygonal opening.

FIG. 3A is a side view of a conventional output-terminal device for an a.c. generator for a vehicle, which is viewed from the rear side of the generator. The a.c. generator is of a rotary magnetic pole type wherein a stator (not shown) is attached with a front bracket 1 and a rear bracket 2. In FIG. 3A, reference numeral 20 designates an output-terminal device provided at an outer end of the rear bracket 2 and the output terminal bolt 21 projects in a lateral direction.
FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the output-terminal device 20, connected to a rectifier device, taken along a line B3--B3 in FIG. 3A. In FIG. 3B, reference numerals 12 and 13 designate an output side (positive pole) heat sink and the other side (negative pole) heat sink of the rectifier device. In FIG. 3B, only connecting portions of the heat sinks are shown. Numeral 16 designates a connecting bolt of the output side which is passed through a wiring board 15 and is forcibly fitted to the connecting portion of the heat sink 12 to have an electric connection. The connecting bolt 16 is passed through an insulation tube 14 and is projected in the axial direction to the rear end of the rear bracket 2. The output-terminal device 20 comprises an insulation terminal socket 22 made of a resinous material and the before-mentioned output-terminal bolt 21 connected to the connecting bolt 16 by means of a nut 17 which is embedded in the socket 22. The rear end of the terminal bolt 21 is formed to have a flat portion 21a. The terminal bolt 21 has a flange portion 21c at an intermediate portion and a threaded portion 21b at its front end which is used for connecting a terminal. The terminal socket 22 has a cylindrical flange portion 22a which projects from its one end where a cut portion 22b is formed. Numeral 24 designates an insulating cap which is fitted to the insulation terminal socket 22 to surround the nut 17. FIG. 3C is a plane view of the output-terminal device 20 shown in FIG. 3A.
FIGS. 3D and 3E are respectively a plane view and a side view partly broken which show the output-terminal bolt 21 to which an external wire is connected. A crimp-style terminal 36 is connected to an external wire 35 by crimping. The crimp-style terminal 36 is fitted to the output-terminal bolt 21 and is fastened to it by means of a nut 37. The terminal 36 is inserted in the cut portion 22b so as to prevent it from turning.
A three-phase a.c. voltage generated in the a.c. generator is rectified into a d.c. voltage by means of the rectifier device and the generated d.c. voltage is outputted.
In the conventional output-terminal device described above, the direction of extending the external wire 35 is different depending on the types of vehicle. Accordingly, the position of the cut portion 22b had to be determined in the insulation terminal socket 22 in correspondence to the direction of extending the external wire 35. There was, therefore, a problem that many kinds of output-terminal devices had to be prepared.

Output-terminal device for an a.c. generator for a vehicle


The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling a voltage in a wind farm. The method includes: collecting measured values of parameters as initial values of the prediction values; inputting the initial values into a preset control model for optimizing a model predictive control; solving the preset control model to obtain a first solution sequence of the reactive power setting values of the wind turbines and a second solution sequence of the terminal voltage setting values of the static var generators; and sending first values in the first solution sequence to the wind turbines and first values in the second solution sequence to the static var generators, such that a voltage control in the wind farm is realized.

In recent years, the capacity of wind power common coupling system grows continually and rapidly. Accordingly, problems about the voltage in large-scale wind power integration areas occur. If wind energy resources are far away from load centers, the wind power will be coupled into weak parts of the power system lacking of the support of regular water or thermal power plants, so regional voltages in these parts are easily affected by active and reactive powers of the wind farm. When the wind gusts, the wind power may fluctuate significantly in a minute, thereby resulting in a drastic fluctuation of the voltage at a point of common coupling.
Currently, in wind farms put into operation in the worksite, voltage controllers are mostly designed with reference to conventional thermal power plants, i.e. wind turbines and SVCs/SVGs (Static Var Compensators/Static Var Generators) are viewed as different reactive power sources and less consideration is took on differences of response characteristics thereof. Conventional control methods give priority to a current state optimization but ignore influences on a future state of the system during the reactive power adjusting process of the wind turbines and the SVCs/SVGs. In order to avoid voltage oscillations due to the mismatching between the reactive power adjustment and a system state at the time when the adjustment is completed, a smaller reactive power adjusting step length is set and the voltages are controlled by a way of multistep approaching during the controlling process. When the wind fluctuates rapidly, in the case that the reactive power adjustments of the wind turbines are limited, the SVCs/SVGs track voltage targets, such that their own dynamic reactive power reserves are exhausted firstly, and then a problem that no support can be provided in the case of emergency or voltage fluctuating drastically in future is brought.

Method and apparatus for controlling voltage in wind farm


A method is disclosed for the casting of metals by the use of a consumable or vaporizable pattern. In this method, a foamed pattern of a desired part is first formed. The pattern is then dipped into a ceramic slurry and the slurry dried in order to form a shell containing the foamed pattern. A bed of a particulate medium heated to a temperature of from 700.degree. to 1000.degree. F. is formed around the ceramic shell to cause the pattern to vaporize without burning and form a mold. A molten metal is then introduced into the mold, solidified and removed from the mold to form a casting. An inert atmosphere can be provided over the bed of heated particulate medium during the vaporization of the pattern to help suppress the burning of the vaporized pattern.

(1) Technical Field
This invention relates to the formation of metal parts by the use of foam patterns which are consumed or evaporated during the casting of the metal.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The casting or molding of metals is an art that has been in existence for a very long time and yet, surprisingly, has not experienced very many changes with respect to the basic techniques or materials used in the process.
A typical prior art process for making a casting is by the "lost foam" or "evaporative pattern casting" method. This method initially requires the formation of a foam pattern out of a consumable polymeric material.
This foam pattern is then dipped or coated with a ceramic slurry and placed in a bed of dry, loose, cool sand. The sand bed is thoroughly vibrated to compact the particles around the coated pattern. After the compaction is completed, molten metal is poured directly onto the polymeric pattern. The pattern gradually evaporates as it comes in contact with the molten metal. The products of evaporation, mostly gases, are vented into the dry sand bed, leaving behind a cavity for the molten metal to fill. As the evaporation, followed by filling by molten metal is completed, an exact replica of the polymeric pattern is reproduced in metal.
This typical prior art process of "lost foam" casting has problems in that the formation of the ceramic shell is costly and time consuming. The porosity of the ceramic shell also has to be carefully controlled in order to allow the gases evolved during the evaporation of the polymeric pattern exit through the shell. Another problem with this conventional process is that the polymeric pattern often decomposes into lustrous carbon and gases which become defect core impurities in the metal part. In order to address this problem, the density of the pattern has to be carefully regulated, which also involves the expenditure of additional time and expense.
There also exists the possibility that the ceramic shell may warp or crack because of the introduction of the molten metal therein. This would necessitate the formation of a new ceramic shell which would entail additional expenditures of time and expense.
In another "lost foam" or "evaporative casting" process, an oven is used to burn out the polymeric foam pattern from the ceramic shell. This process also requires the polymeric foam pattern to be coated with a large number of coats of the ceramic material since the ceramic shell ultimately must support the molten metal, and the problems also arise of damaging the ceramic shell during its removal from the oven and the ceramic shell warping during the burning out of the foam pattern.
Another prior art process for making a casting is the "lost wax" or "investment casting process". The "lost wax" process entails the coating of a wax pattern with a ceramic slurry. The coated wax pattern is inserted into a steam autoclave to remove the pattern. The removal of the wax pattern weakens the ceramic shell so the ceramic shell must be heated at temperatures up to 2000.degree. F. in order to strengthen it. Molten metal is then introduced into the ceramic shell in order to form a casting.
Due to the weakness of the ceramic shell, the subsequent handling of the shell in order to introduce the molten metal therein, and the need for the ceramic shell to have sufficient strength to contain the molten metal without external support, from 10-14 coats of the ceramic slurry is applied to the wax pattern. The application of the large number of ceramic coatings consume a great deal of time and money.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,417 discloses a method for casting or molding metals in a mold. The mold comprises a refractory inorganic oxide foam which has been formed by heating a filled organic foam at a temperature and time sufficient to substantially decompose an organic binder to a carbonaceous state, or, alternatively, to substantially consume the organic binder to form a refractory inorganic foam. This patent discloses the use of an oven to decompose the organic binder and to fuse or sinter the remaining inorganic components. However, the formation of the "green" mold is an extremely complicated process and the time and expense involved in heating the "green" mold to a temperature sufficient to decompose the organic binder and fuse the remaining inorganic components is unnecessarily high.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,504 discloses a method for casting vitreous materials using the lost wax process. In this patent, a pattern of the article to be cast is made using a substance which is vaporized during the casting. Wax, polystyrene and polyethylene are disclosed as being suitable materials for the pattern. The pattern can be coated with a thin layer of a mixture of graphite and a refractory powder and then embedded in a heat resistant silica compound to form a casting mold. The silica compound typically is moistened or contains a cohesive material, such as a resin, in order to insure that the portion of the sand mold adjacent to the surface of the cast articles dries thoroughly. A vitreous material having a viscosity of between 20 and 100 poises is introduced into the mold and decomposes the pattern. The article formed in the mold can be ceramified by fluidizing the sand by means of a hot stream of gas. It is to be noted that this reference deals with the formation of a vitreous article, not a metal article, and requires that the viscosity of the casting material be maintained in a certain range in order for the casting material not to pierce the mold.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,728 discloses a method of joining foam patterns which are used in evaporative casting processes. This patent discloses a method of assembling complex, consumable foam patterns for use in evaporative pattern metal casting but gives no particulars as to the evaporative pattern process per se.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,443 discloses a method for producing a cast metal object in which a heated particulate medium at a temperature of between 1500.degree.-2000.degree. F. is used to support a ceramic shell containing a consumable polymeric pattern. The heat from the heated particulate medium causes the polymeric pattern to decompose and vaporize and form a cavity in the ceramic shell into which molten metal may be introduced. The molten metal is then allowed to solidify and form the cast metal object. Due to the high temperature of the particulate medium in this method, problems arise with respect to the handling and disposal of the vapors from the decomposed pattern.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for forming a cast metal article by the evaporative casting process which does not contain the drawbacks of the processes used in the prior art.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an evaporative casting process which does not require the formation of a ceramic shell comprised of a large number of individual layers of the ceramic material.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an evaporative casting process in which the porosity of the ceramic shell is not a factor and which reduces the possibility of the ceramic shell warping or cracking during subsequent uses.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an evaporative casting process which forms a cast metal article not having gas or lustrous carbon defects present in the casting.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an evaporative casting process which reduces the expenses typically associated with such a process by minimizing or eliminating the pollution problems caused by the vaporization of a decomposable pattern used in the casting process and reducing the energy requirement needed in removing the pattern.
It is a still further object of the present invention to improve the surface finish and dimensional attributes of the cast parts made by the evaporative casting process.

Low temperature process for evaporative pattern casting

The Board of Trustees of Western Michigan University


The invention provides a process for production of powder of perovskite compound which comprises:                the first step for obtaining an aggregate of perovskite compound which comprises at least one A group element selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba and Pb and at least one B group element selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Hf and Sn, and which is represented by the general formulaABO3 wherein A is at least one A group element and B is at least one B group element; and        the second step for heating the aggregate of perovskite compound obtained in the first step in a solvent at a temperature in a range from 30° C. to 500° C. whereby disintegrating the aggregate.

In general, perovskite compounds refer to compounds having similar crystalline structure to that of calcium titanate mineral (perovskite). By molding and sintering such compounds, dielectric ceramics having dielectricity, piezoelectricity and semiconductive property can be obtained. Recently, such ceramics are widely used for capacitors, transmission filters, piezoelectric elements, thermistor, etc. for electric devices such as telecommunication devices and computer machines.
As described in Journal of Powder Technology, Vol. 34, No. 11, page 32, Kyoichi Sasaki, "Barium titanate, and process for production and process of the complex particles thereof" (1997), a solid phase process is well-known as a typical process for production of such perovskite compounds. For example, barium titanate, which is a typical example of perovskite compounds, is produced by a solid phase process in which barium carbonate and titanium oxide are heated to a temperature of 1000° C. or more to provide barium titanate. In such a solid phase process, the thus formed particles of barium titanate are aggregated each other so that the barium titanate is obtained as a fusion-bonded aggregate. Therefore, particles of barium titanate having a desired average particle size are conventionally obtained by crushing the aggregate by a mechanical crushing means, a media mill, or an airflow crusher.
As described in the Society of Powder Technology, Japan, ed. "Crushing, Sizing and Surface Modification", page 99 (published in 2001), examples of the mechanical crushing means include, for example, a roll mill, a hammer mill, and a pin mill, among others, and examples of the media mill include, for example, a ball mill, a tube mill, a conical mill, a vibration mill, a tower mill, an atritor, a visco mill, a sand mill, and an annular mill, among others. Examples of the airflow crusher include, for example, a jet mill.
However, when a mechanical crushing means is used, the obtained powder is low in crushing degree. On the other hand, when a media mill is used, impurities are generated by abrasion of grinding media such as alumina, zirconia or agate jasper, or microparticles or chipping particles are generated by excess crushing and grinding of barium titanate by grinding media, and they contaminate the resulting powder of barium titanate. Therefore, the thus obtained powder of barium titanate has neither a satisfactory purity nor a satisfactory particle size distribution. Accordingly, a process using grinding media mainly formed of barium titanate has been suggested, as described in JP-A-03-174355 so that the resulting powder of barium titanate is not contaminated with impurities derived from grinding media, but it is still unavoidable that the resulting powder of barium titanate is contaminated with chipping particles.
As an alternative process for production of barium titanate powder, a wet process such as an alkoxide process, an organic acid salt process, a hydrothermal process, or a sol-gel process is also known. However, in the organic acid salt process and the sol-gel process, raw materials are reacted under heating to form an aggregate of barium titanate, and accordingly, it is necessary to crush the obtained aggregate of barium titanate, similarly to the solid phase process. Thus, also in these processes, it is unavoidable that the obtained powder of barium titanate is contaminated with impurities or chipping particles, as mentioned above.
On the other hand, as described in JP-A-05-330824, barium titanate can be directly synthesized by an alkoxide process and a hydrothermal process. However, these processes involve heat treatment to allow metamorphosis to a tetragonal system and to enlarge the particle size to some extent in view of practical need. Consequently, since also the thus formed barium titanate is obtained as an aggregate, these processes need a step for crushing the aggregate. Accordingly, also in the alkoxide process and the hydrothermal process, it is unavoidable that the obtained powder of barium titanate is contaminated with impurities or chipping particles.
As described above, according to the conventional process for production of powder of perovskite compound, the perovskite compound is obtained as an aggregate, and even when such an aggregate is crushed using a conventional mechanical crushing means, the aggregate is not crushed to a high degree. Then, when a media mill is used for crushing an aggregate to obtain a powder having a desired average particles size, it is unavoidable that the resulting powder is contaminated with impurities derived from chipping particles or grinding media. In turn, when an airflow crushing process is used, the particles of perovskite compound in the aggregate become distorted by impact of airflow during the treatment so that the obtained powder of perovskite compound does not necessarily have satisfying properties for obtaining homogeneous dielectric ceramics. Thus, there arises a problem, for example, that it cannot meet sufficiently to the demand for miniaturization and high performance of electronic parts such as capacitors, filters, thermistors, etc.
The invention has been accomplished to solve the above-mentioned problems involved in the production of powder of perovskite compound. It is an object of the invention to provide a process for production of powder of perovskite compound of which process provides a high purity powder of perovskite compound containing no impurities derived from grinding media or chipping particles, without resorting to impact caused by grinding media or airflow to crush an aggregate of perovskite compound.

Process for production of powder of perovskite compound

Abstract: The process makes it unnecessary to resort to a conventional mechanical crushing means or to make use of impact caused by milling media or airflow, but it makes possible to obtain a powder of perovskite compound which is not contaminated with impurities derived from milling media or chipping particles but has a high purity and a narrow particle size distribution.


According to an aspect, a liquid-crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid-crystal layer. The first substrate includes a first electrode and a second electrode, and one of the first electrode and the second electrode is a pixel electrode provide, the first electrode includes an electrode base portion extending in a first direction and comb tooth portions extending in a second direction and protruding in a comb teeth shape from the electrode base portion with a predetermined distance interposed therebetween, and adjacent comb tooth portions include adjacent comb tooth portions having a relation in which a first long side of one comb tooth portion closest to a boundary between pixels is not parallel to a first long side of the other comb tooth portion.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid-crystal display device provided with liquid crystals and to an electronic apparatus including the liquid-crystal display device provided with liquid crystals.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been developed systems (modes) for driving liquid crystals, including a liquid-crystal driving system that uses an electric field generated in a longitudinal direction between substrates, that is, a longitudinal electric field. Examples of a liquid-crystal display device that drives liquid crystals using a longitudinal electric field include, but are not limited to, longitudinal-electric-field liquid-crystal display devices provided with a twisted nematic (TN) system, a vertical alignment (VA) system, an electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) system, etc. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2008-52161 (JP-A-2008-52161), there has also been developed a liquid-crystal driving system that uses an electric field generated in a direction parallel to substrates (lateral direction), that is, a lateral electric field. Examples of a liquid-crystal display device that drives liquid crystals using a lateral electric field include, but are not limited to, lateral-electric-field liquid-crystal display devices provided with a fringe field switching (FFS) system, an in-plane switching (IPS) system, etc.
In the IPS mode, a first electrode and a second electrode are provided on the same layer, and an electric field is generated mainly in a direction parallel to the substrate surface. This configuration makes the electric field unlikely to be generated in an area above the first electrode, thereby making liquid-crystal molecules in the area unlikely to be driven.
In the FFS mode, a pixel electrode and a common electrode overlap in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface with a dielectric film interposed therebetween. This configuration generates an electric field extending mainly in a direction oblique to the substrate surface or a parabolic electric field (also referred to as a fringe electric field). As a result, liquid-crystal molecules in an area above the pixel electrode are likely to be driven. In other words, the FFS mode can provide a higher aperture ratio than the IPS mode does.
The lateral-electric-field liquid-crystal device generates an electric field between the first electrode and the second electrode in a direction parallel to the substrate, thereby rotating the liquid-crystal molecules in a plane parallel to the substrate surface. The liquid-crystal device uses a change in the light transmittance corresponding to the rotation of the liquid-crystal molecules, thereby performing display. Such lateral-electric-field liquid-crystal display devices are required to achieve a higher response speed of the liquid-crystals.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2013-109309 (JP-A-2013-109309) discloses a liquid-crystal display device having a higher response speed of liquid crystals than the liquid-crystal device disclosed in JP-A-2008-52161 does.
The liquid-crystal device disclosed in JP-A-2013-109309 has a higher response speed of liquid crystals. In the liquid-crystal device, however, the rotation direction may possibly be unstable at a boundary portion between pixels, resulting in variation in the orientation of the liquid crystals.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a liquid-crystal display device and an electronic apparatus including the liquid-crystal display device that achieve a higher response speed and higher orientation stability of liquid crystals at a boundary between pixels and have higher in-plane display quality.

Liquid-crystal display device and electronic apparatus


One or more computing devices, systems, and/or methods for adjusting recipients of a message are provided. For example, a trigger item may be detected in a first input field, of a messaging interface, corresponding to a body of a message. A list of user identifications may be generated and/or displayed. A first content item may be detected in the second input field following the trigger item. A second list of user identifications may be generated based upon the first content item and/or the second list of user identifications may be displayed. A first user identification may be selected by receiving a selection of the first user identification from the second list of user identifications. A first contact item associated with the first user identification may be entered into one or more second input fields corresponding to one or more recipients of the message.

Many services, such as email services, instant messaging services, social networks and apps may allow a user to create an account for sending and receiving messages. The user may compose a message for transmission to one or more recipients. The user may intend to add a recipient to the one or more recipients of the message and/or remove a recipient from the one or more recipients of the message. However, the user may forget to add or remove recipients, and the message may not be transmitted to one or more intended messaging accounts and/or may be transmitted to one or more unintended messaging accounts.


A sheet processing apparatus in which a sheet bundle including a plurality of sheets discharged onto an intermediate processing tray is received in a receiving portion of a stapler and bound with use of a staple, and a sheet bundle including a plurality of sheets discharged onto the intermediate processing tray is received in a receiving portion of a staple-less binding unit having a gap in the thickness direction of the sheets smaller than that of the receiving portion of the stapler and bound without using a staple, wherein when the stapler performs the binding process, the staple-less binding unit is arranged in a position shifted in a width direction orthogonal to a sheet discharge direction from a region on the intermediate processing tray, through which the sheets discharged by a sheet discharging portion pass.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus which are configured to bind sheets with use of a binding unit of different types.
Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, in image forming apparatus such as copying machines, laser beam printers, fax machines and multifunctional peripherals have included a sheet processing apparatus configured to bind sheets. In such a sheet processing apparatus, a sheet bundle, including a plurality of sheets, is bound using a metal staple. Such a stapling process can reliably bind a plurality of output sheets at a position specified by a user, and hence this process is adopted in many sheet processing apparatus.
Further, in conventional sheet processing apparatus, there has been proposed an apparatus including, in addition to the binding unit using a staple, a binding unit configured to simply bind the sheets without using a staple, on the presumption that "unbinding" of the sheet bundle is to be performed after the binding (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-318918). This apparatus includes, in addition to the staple binding unit configured to fasten a maximum of 50 sheets by a staple, a binding unit, as an example of staple-less binding unit, configured to perform simple binding of up to about 10 sheets by forming a half-blanking shaped fastening portion in a sheet bundle. When binding is to be performed in such a sheet processing apparatus, a selective moving mechanism selectively moves each of the binding unit arranged to be movable forward and backward to a binding position of the sheet bundle.
Such a conventional sheet processing apparatus includes the selective moving mechanism for selectively moving each binding unit to the binding position, and hence the configuration of the apparatus becomes complicated. In order to prevent this, the following configurations may be considered. For example, at least the staple-less binding unit is fixed to eliminate the selective moving mechanism.
By the way, when the maximum number of bindable sheets differs between the respective binding units as described above, generally, the height (width in an up-down direction) of a sheet receiving portion (hereinafter referred to as "opening") opened in the thickness direction of the sheet bundle also differs depending on the maximum number of bindable sheets. Therefore, depending on the fixing positions at which the respective binding units are fixed and depending on the thickness of the sheet bundle when the binding is performed with, for example, the staple binding unit having a larger opening height (a larger maximum number of bindable sheets), the sheet bundle interferes with the staple-less binding unit having a smaller opening height (a smaller maximum number of bindable sheets).

Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus


The present invention discloses a method for preventing particle contamination in a polishing machine that utilizes slurry composition for the removal of material from the surface of a substrate. The novel method is particularly suited for use in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus in which a slurry composition is used. The method includes the step of providing a plurality of cleaning devices each having a bendable, shapable conduit and a spray nozzle for dispensing a cleaning solvent on the spindle and the conditioner arm utilized in the CMP apparatus. The present invention further discloses an apparatus for use in carrying out a method for preventing particle contamination in a CMP apparatus by using bendable, shapable conduits for dispensing a cleaning solvent such as deionized water onto the chamber components for removing slurry deposits that may have splattered thereon and therefore, eliminating sources for particle contamination.

Apparatus for polishing thin, flat semi-conductor wafers is well known in the art. Such apparatus normally includes a polishing head which carries a membrane for engaging and forcing a semi-conductor wafer against a wetted polishing surface, such as a polishing pad. Either the pad, or the polishing head is rotated and oscillates the wafer over the polishing surface. The polishing head is forced downwardly onto the polishing surface by a pressurized air system or, similar arrangement. The downward force pressing the polishing head against the polishing surface can be adjusted as desired. The polishing head is typically mounted on an elongated pivoting carrier arm, which can move the pressure head between several operative positions. In one operative position, the carrier arm positions a wafer mounted on the pressure head in contact with the polishing pad. In order to remove the wafer from contact with the polishing surface, the carrier arm is first pivoted upwardly to lift the pressure head and wafer from the polishing surface. The carrier arm is then pivoted laterally to move the pressure head and wafer carried by the pressure head to an auxiliary wafer processing station. The auxiliary processing station may include, for example, a station for cleaning the wafer and/or polishing head; a wafer unload station; or, a wafer load station.
More recently, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus has been employed in combination with a pneumatically actuated polishing head. CMP apparatus is used primarily for polishing the front face or device side of a semiconductor wafer during the fabrication of semiconductor devises on the wafer. A wafer is "planarized" or smoothed one or more times during a fabrication process in order for the top surface of the wafer to be as flat as possible. A wafer is polished by being placed on a carrier and pressed face down onto a polishing pad covered with a slurry of colloidal silica or alumina in de-ionized water.
A perspective view of a typical CMP apparatus is shown in FIG. 1A. The CMP apparatus 10 consists of a controlled mini-environment 12 and a control panel section 14. In the controlled mini-environment 12, typically four spindles 16, 18, 20, and 22 are provided (the fourth spindle 22 is not shown in FIG. 1A) which are mounted on a cross-head 24. On the bottom of each spindle, for instance, under the spindle 16, a polishing head 26 is mounted and rotated by a motor (not shown). A substrate such as a wafer is mounted on the polishing head 26 with the surface to be polished mounted in a face-down position (not shown). During a polishing operation, the polishing head 26 is moved longitudinally along the spindle 16 in a linear motion across the surface of a polishing pad 28. As shown in FIG. 1A, the polishing pad 28 is mounted on a polishing disc 30 rotated by a motor (not shown) in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the polishing head 26.
Also shown in FIG. 1A is a conditioner arm 32 which is equipped with a rotating conditioner disc 34. The conditioner arm 32 pivots on its base 36 for conditioning the polishing pad 38 for the in-situ conditioning of the pad during polishing. While three stations each equipped with a polishing pad 28, 38 and 40 are shown, the fourth station is a head clean load/unload (HCLU) station utilized for the loading and unloading of wafers into and out of the polishing head. After a wafer is mounted into a polishing head in the fourth head cleaning load/unload station, the cross head 24 rotates 90.degree. clockwise to move the wafer just loaded into a polishing position, i.e., over the polishing pad 28. Simultaneously, a polished wafer mounted on spindle 20 is moved into the head clean load/unload station for unloading.
A cross-sectional view of a polishing station 42 is shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C. As shown in FIG. 1B, a rotating polishing head 26 which holds a wafer 44 is pressed onto an oppositely rotating polishing pad 28 mounted on a polishing disc 30 by adhesive means. The polishing pad 28 is pressed against the wafer surface 46 at a predetermined pressure. During polishing, a slurry 48 is dispensed in droplets onto the surface of the polishing pad 28 to effectuate the chemical mechanical removal of materials from the wafer surface 46.
An enlarged cross-sectional representation of the polishing action which results from a combination of chemical and mechanical effects is shown in FIG. 1C. The CMP method can be used to provide a planner surface on dielectric layers, on deep and shallow trenches that are filled with polysilicon or oxide, and on various metal films. A possible mechanism for the CMP process involves the formation of a chemically altered layer at the surface of the material being polished. The layer is mechanically removed from the underlying bulk material. An outer layer is than regrown on the surface while the process is repeated again. For instance, in metal polishing, a metal oxide layer can be formed and removed repeatedly.
During a CMP process, a large volume of a slurry composition is dispensed. The slurry composition and the pressure applied between the wafer surface and the polishing pad determine the rate of polishing or material removal from the wafer surface. The chemistry of the slurry composition plays an important role in the polishing rate of the CMP process. For instance, when polishing oxide films, the rate of removal is twice as fast in a slurry that has a pH of 11 than with a slurry that has a pH of 7. The hardness of the polishing particles contained in the slurry composition should be about the same as the hardness of the film to be removed to avoid damaging the film. A slurry composition typically consists of an abrasive component, i.e., hard particles and components that chemically react with the surface of the substrate. For instance, a typical oxide polishing slurry composition consists of a colloidal suspension of oxide particles with an average size of 30 nm suspended in an alkali solution at a pH larger than 10. A polishing rate of about 120 nm/min can be achieved by using this slurry composition. Other abrasive components such as ceria suspensions may also be used for glass polishing where large amounts of silicon oxide must be removed. Ceria suspensions act as both the mechanical and the chemical agent in the slurry for achieving high polishing rates, i.e., large than 500 nm/min. While ceria particles in the slurry composition remove silicon oxide at a higher rate than do silica, silica is still preferred because smoother surfaces can be produced. Other abrasive components, such as alumina (Al.sub.3 O.sub.2) may also be used in the slurry composition.
A slurry composition is a material that easily accumulates after contacting dry air or without proper circulation of air. When slurry is left on the surface of the process environment, i.e., on the surface of the spindles or the conditioner arms in a CMP machine, it will dry and accumulate to become a source of particle contamination for the wafers that are processed in the polishing chamber. Slurry particles can easily fall from moving parts to the polishing pad due to mechanical vibration of the CMP apparatus to cause macro-scratch of the wafer surface. Slurry particles may also become source of particle contaminants for the wafer surface and for the chamber environment. It is therefore highly desirable that particle contaminants resulting from dry slurry to be avoided or eliminated.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing particle contamination in a CMP apparatus that does not have the drawbacks or shortcomings of the conventional CMP apparatus.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing particle contamination in a CMP apparatus that utilizes slurry composition by preventing the formation of particles from the slurry composition.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing particle contamination in a CMP apparatus by providing a plurality of fluid conduits and spray nozzles or air atomizing nozzle in the polishing chamber for the cleaning of dried slurry that was splattered on the machine surface.
It is another further object of the present invention for preventing particle contamination in a CMP apparatus by providing a plurality of bendable, shapable conduits and spray nozzles or air atomizing nozzle for spraying a cleaning solvent onto a spindle surface for preventing slurry accumulation on the surface.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing particle contamination in a CMP apparatus by providing a plurality of shapable conduits equipped with spray nozzles or air atomizing nozzle for cleaning spindles and conditioner arms of slurry deposits before the formation of particles contaminants.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a polishing machine that is equipped with a cleaning apparatus for preventing particle contamination on a substrate that includes a plurality of cleaning devices position juxtaposed to each spindle and conditioner arm for spraying a cleaning solvent and removing slurry deposits on the components.
It is still another further object of the present invention to provide a CMP apparatus equipped with a cleaning means for preventing particle contamination on a wafer which includes a plurality of shapable conduits equipped with spray nozzles or air atomizing nozzle for spraying a cleaning solvent on the machine components such that slurry deposits on the components can be removed becoming contaminating particles.
It is yet another further object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing particle contamination in a CMP apparatus by providing a plurality of bendable, shapable conduits equipped with spray nozzles or air atomizing nozzle for spraying a cleaning solvent onto the chamber components for preventing slurry deposits on the chamber components from becoming contaminating particles.

Method and apparatus for preventing particle contamination in a polishing machine

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A circuit is disclosed to implement an energy saving electronic ballast (1A) for driving a fluorescent lamp or tube (2). The circuit is characterized by a high power factor, low harmonic distortion and minimized radio frequency interference. The circuit includes a unique DC power supply (4) comprising a high pass filter (8), which receives an AC input signal, a diode bridge rectifier (6) and a high speed diode rectifier (D2) which cooperates with the bridge rectifier to provide the power supply with first and second rectification stages. A current regulating capacitor (C4) for driving the fluorescent lamp or tube is connected to the DC power supply between the first and second rectification stages. A trigger and high frequency oscillator are provided after the second rectification stage of the power supply to provide the DC current necessary to operate the ballast circuit. A protection circuit (30) is connected to the ballast and operable to disable the oscillator and thereby prevent damage to the ballast in the event that the tube or lamp is defective or disconnected from the ballast or subjected to abnormal operating conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a compact, relatively low cost, energy-saving electronic ballast that is particularly useful for efficiently driving a fluorescent tube or a compact fluorescent lamp. The ballast is characterized by a high power factor, low total harmonic distortion and minimal radio frequency interference and is adapted to be used with compatible tubes and lamps from different manufacturing sources. A protection circuit is connected to the ballast to prevent damage thereto in the event that the tube or lamp is defective or disconnected from the ballast or subjected to abnormal operating conditions.
2. Background Art
Fluorescent tube and compact fluorescent lamp assemblies are well known lighting devices. The fluorescent tube assembly includes a tube and a separate electronic ballast or adapter to drive the tube. In the case of the compact fluorescent lamp assembly, a lamp and ballast are combined as an integrated unit.
The conventional ballast that is associated with the fluorescent tube assembly is typically heavy and large. Moreover, such a ballast is not very energy efficient and is characterized by a low power factor. The conventional ballast associated with the compact fluorescent lamp assembly is also characterized by a low power factor, unless size is sacrificed. Such a ballast is also characterized by total harmonic distortion which, in many cases, is not in full compliance with government regulations. Because the compact lamp and electronic ballast are integrated, the entire lighting assembly must be discarded when the lamp is damaged or reaches the end of its life. The foregoing results in waste and inefficient use of materials, particularly in view of the fact that the ballast is more costly to manufacture than the lamp and commonly has a longer expected life span.
Ballasts are also known to fail because of certain failures in the fluorescent tube or lamp. Consequently, the life of the ballast is reduced and the frequency of replacement is increased, whereby operating costs are correspondingly increased. Such failures to the ballast may occur if power is applied when the tube (i.e. load) is removed from the ballast or when an incorrect or defective tube is connected to the ballast or the tube is subjected to either a transient voltage surge or a high ambient temperature that alters the electrical characteristics thereof.
It would therefore be desirable to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings to fluorescent lighting devices by providing a lightweight, compact, energy efficient electronic ballast that would have low total harmonic distortion, minimum radio frequency interference, and a high power factor (e.g. 0.9 or higher). Moreover, it would be desirable that the ballast be detachable from the fluorescent lamp so that the lamp can be replaced without the necessity of scrapping the ballast. In addition, the ballast must comply with all government regulations and be compatible with fluorescent tubes and lamps that are produced by different manufacturers. Furthermore, it would be desirable to have a protection circuit connected to the ballast to reduce failures thereof as a consequence of certain failures in the tube or lamp.

Combination ballast for driving a fluorescent lamp or tube and ballast protection circuit