A process for depositing a biaxially aligned intermediate layer over a non-single crystal substrate is disclosed which permits the subsequent deposition thereon of a biaxially oriented superconducting film. The process comprises depositing on a substrate by laser ablation a material capable of being biaxially oriented and also capable of inhibiting the migration of substrate materials through the intermediate layer into such a superconducting film, while simultaneously bombarding the substrate with an ion beam. In a preferred embodiment, the deposition is carried out in the same chamber used to subsequently deposit a superconducting film over the intermediate layer. In a further aspect of the invention, the deposition of the superconducting layer over the biaxially oriented intermediate layer is also carried out by laser ablation with optional additional bombardment of the coated substrate with an ion beam during the deposition of the superconducting film.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the formation of a high temperature superconducting film on a substrate. More particularly, this invention relates to a process for the formation of a biaxially textured intermediate layer over a non-single crystal substrate to provide biaxial orientation which permits subsequent epitaxial growth of a biaxially oriented high temperature superconductor film thereover.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pulsed laser deposition is a demonstrated technique for fabricating high temperature superconducting thin films with excellent resistive transitions (T.sub.c) and high critical current densities. This technique offers several desirable characteristics for film fabrication, including rapid deposition rates, congruent material transfer, and simple target requirements. In addition, because photons induce material removal, a variety of films can be deposited without the need for a specialized atmosphere. Such pulsed laser deposition techniques are described, for example, by Russo et al. in "Metal Buffer Layers and Y--Ba--Cu--O Thin Films on Pt and Stainless-Steel Using Pulsed Laser Deposition", published in J. Appl. Phys. 68 (3), 1 Aug. 1990 at pages 1354-1356, and by Russo et al. in "Fabrication and Characterization of Y--Ba--Cu--O Thin films on Stainless Steel Substrates", in a paper submitted for publication in High Temperature Superconducting Compounds II, edited by S. H. Whang (Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, Warrendale), 1990, pp. 1-6.
Most such high temperature superconducting thin films have been grown on single crystal substrates which promote the growth of oriented epitaxial films, and the resulting structures are suitable for electronic applications. However, such single crystal substrates are not suitable for conductor applications, such as electric power transmission; or energy storage using magnetic tapes.
Instead, metal substrates are usually used for such applications. However, to avoid metal migration from the substrate into the superconducting film (which can destroy the film's superconducting properties) an intermediate layer is usually formed over the metal substrate before depositing the superconducting film. This, in turn, has created problems, however, in attempting to achieve the same degree of axial orientation of the superconducting film as obtainable with single crystal substrates.
The formation and use of such intermediate layers is described, for example, in the aforementioned Russo et al. articles, which describe the use of an Ag intermediate layer. The use of a yttrium-stabilized zirconia (ZrO.sub.2) intermediate layer, commonly referred to as a YSZ layer, is described by Narumi et al. in "Critical Current Density in YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.6.8 Films on Buffered Metallic Substrates", published in Appl. Phys. Lett. 58 (11), 18 Mar. 1991, at pages 1202-1204; by Reade et al. in "Characterization of Y--Ba--Cu--O Thin Films and Yttria-Stabilized Intermediate Layers on Metal Alloys Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition", published in Appl. Phys. Lett. 59 (6), 5 Aug. 1991, at pages 739-741; and by Kumar et al. in "Synthesis of Superconducting YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta. Films on Nickel-Based Superalloy Using In Situ Pulsed Laser Deposition", Appl. Phys. Lett. 57 (24) 10 Dec. 1990, at pages 2594-2596.
More recently a process has been described for forming a biaxially aligned YSZ intermediate layer by rf sputter deposition of the YSZ material on a substrate while bombarding the substrate with an ion beam of argon and oxygen. This permitted subsequent deposition of an in-plane aligned film of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-X (YBCO) on the biaxially aligned YSZ layers by laser ablation. This process is described by Y. Iijima et al. in "In-Plane Aligned YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-X. Thin Films Deposited on Polycrystalline Metallic Substrates", published in Appl. Phys. Lett. 60 (6), 10 Feb. 1992, at pages 769-771.
While the authors of the above mentioned article on sputter deposition reported advantages from the combination of a rf sputter deposition with a simultaneous oxygen/argon ion bombardment, it has been found to be difficult to control an ion bombardment process and a sputter deposition process being simultaneously carried out in the same chamber, since the various parameters which must be controlled for proper sputter deposition, such as gas composition and flow rates, bias voltage, and pressure, are affected by the ion beam in the chamber. Therefore, such a modified sputter deposition process is not deemed to be a practical solution to the problem of forming a biaxially oriented intermediate layer over a non-single crystal substrate such as a metal substrate.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide an easily controllable deposition process to deposit a biaxially oriented intermediate layer on a substrate without the use of a sputter deposition technique.

Process for ion-assisted laser deposition of biaxially textured layer on substrate


The present invention relates to an applicator for applying a liquid such as floor wax. When an operator adjusts a handle-mounted valve, drops of wax fall down from tube-shaped nozzles arranged in an equidistant relationship on the base of the applicator. The wax is supplied from a bag-shaped container mounted on an intermediate portion of the handle and flows down to the nozzles via filters, an adjusting valve, a distributing chamber and discharge passages. When the applicator is not in use, it is placed on a tray which keeps the base moist with a cloth tightly stretched on the base of the applicator. Steam fills the space between the cloth and the base to prevent solidification of the wax.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid medium applicator for applying a liquid medium such as a wax, a detergent solution or the like to a floor surface. Further, the present invention relates to a tray for moistening the liquid medium applicator. In addition, the present invention relates to a cloth usable with the liquid medium applicator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thread type mop and a wax applicator have been hitherto known as a liquid medium applicator for coating a floor surface with a film of wax.
When using a thread type mop, a mop portion is immersed in a wax solution and the floor surface is uniformly wiped with the mop portion impregnated with a wax. However, it has been found that the thread type mop has problems in that it is impregnated with an excessive quantity of wax solution and some spots on the floor surface fail to be coated with a film of wax. It is particularly important that the floor surface is uniformly coated with a thin film of wax. For this reason, a wax applying operation has required a highly trained skill.
A wax applicator which includes a base operatively secured to the foremost end of a rod-shaped grip handle, a cloth tightly expanded over the base to wipe the floor surface therewith, a wax storage tank firmly mounted on the intermediate part of the grip handle and a knob for opening or closing a wax flow passage extending from the wax storage tank down to outflow holes on the base has been developed. With this wax applicator constructed in the above-described manner, since a desired flow rate of wax can be set by adjusting an extent of opening of the wax flow passage, an adequate quantity of wax flows out through the outflow holes and thereby the floor surface is wiped with the cloth impregnated with the wax.
However, it has been found that the proposed wax applicator has the following problems. Generally, more than 75% of liquid wax is water. When water is vaporized after the floor surface is coated with a film of wax, the effective component, i.e., wax, is solidified and adhesively secured to the floor surface. This also happens to tools and instrument associated with the wax applicator. After a wax applying operation is completed, the wax should completely be removed from the tools and the instruments by a washing operation or the like. Alternatively, the tools and the instruments should be placed in a bag molded of polyvinyl chloride to prevent drying and solidification of the liquid wax. Especially, with respect to the wax applicator, when the liquid wax remains around the outflow holes on the base, it is locally solidified, causing some of the outflow holes to be clogged with the wax. As a result, the wax applicator does not function properly. (b) To assure that a wax applying operation is uniformly performed with a thin film of wax, a highly trained skill is required when the thread type mop is used. With respect to the wax applicator, no consideration has been hitherto given to a material employed for the wax applicator, a structure of the wax applicator, a method of squeezing the cloth via the grip handle held with an operator's hand and uniform impregnation of the cloth with the liquid wax. For this reason, it has been reported that the thread type mop operable by "a highly skilled operator" is superior to the wax applicator with respect to "a quality of finishing" after completion of the wax applying operation. The present tendency of the wax applicator which has been used for a wax applying operation may be summarized by the phrases "coating with a thick film of wax" and "irregular coating".

Applicator for applying a liquid medium with valve for tube nozzles


The present invention relates to a composite tubular article for use as the fixing belt in an image-forming device such as a copying machine etc., particularly as a fixing belt suited for thermal fixing, and also relates to a process for producing the same.. Conventionally known as an image-fixing belt is a belt consisting of a polyimide resin as the inner layer and a fluoroplastic as the outer layer. However, this fixing belt has problems that clear images cannot be obtained because the thickness of each layer is uneven, and that unglossed, so-called matt images cannot be obtained because the belt surface is smooth.. This invention provides a composite tubular article comprising a tubular inner layer made of a polyimide resin and a tubular outer layer made of a fluoroplastic, the outer circumferential surface of the fluoroplastic tubular outer layer having a surface roughness of 1 to 10 .mu.m. The invention further provides, as a production process for the same, a process in which the outer layer is formed by use of a cylinder having an inner circumferential surface with a surface roughness of 1 to 10 .mu.m, and a polyimide-resin tubular inner layer is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the outer layer by converting a poly(amic acid) into a polyimide, or a process in which an inner layer formed by converting a poly(amic acid) into a polyimide is immersed in or sprayed with a fluoroplastic solution in which a particulate material of 5 .mu.m or smaller has been dispersed, thereby to form an outer layer.

Conventionally, as methods for fixing images to transfer paper or the like in the above-mentioned image-forming devices, fixing techniques employing heat, pressure, or a combination of both have been proposed. Examples thereof include the oven fixing method, flash fixing method, pressure fixing method, hot roller fixing method, and the like. Of these, the hot roller fixing method is extensively employed from the standpoints of thermal efficiency, the danger of taking fire, fixing properties, etc.
As shown in FIG. 4, the above hot roller fixing method is a technique in which a hot roller 18 and a press roller 20 are arranged in a vertical stack and a transfer paper 14 is passed between the rollers 18 and 20. In this technique, a heat-sensitive ink 9 as a substance to be fixed is fused and fixed to the transfer paper 14 by heating the ink with a built-in fixing heater 19 in the hot roller 18 and, at the same time, fixing of the ink is made tenacious by pressing the ink with the press roller 20, thereby making an image by the heat-sensitive ink 9 on the transfer paper 14. In this case, for the purpose of preventing the heat-sensitive ink 9 or the transfer paper 14 to which the ink has been fixed from adhering to the hot roller 18 after the fixing, coating of a fluorine compound on the surface of the hot roller 18 or coating of a silicone oil on the surface of the above coating layer is being conducted. Further, since the above treatments only is insufficient in preventing the adhesion of the heat-sensitive ink 9 or transfer paper 14 to the hot roller 18, a separating blade 21 is provided, in addition to the above treatment, in such a manner that the blade is in slightly contact with the surface of the hot roller 18 as shown in FIG. 5, to thereby prevent the heat-sensitive ink 9 or the transfer paper 14 to which the ink has been fixed from adhering to the hot roller 18. However, provision of the separating blade 21 in an image-forming device as described above makes the device expensive and also causes a problem that the complicated device mechanism leads to frequent occurrence of troubles.
On the other hand, in order to fix the heat-sensitive ink 9 to the transfer paper 14, the hot roller 18 should be heated to a temperature required for the fixing. However, if the temperature of the hot roller 18 is raised too high, there are cases where the heat-sensitive ink 9 cannot be completely peeled from the hot roller 18 because the heat-sensitive ink 9 itself has a slightly tacky nature. As a result, not only the quality of the image formed on the transfer paper 14 becomes insufficient, but the resistance at the time of peeling from the hot roller 18 causes problems that the transfer paper 14 is electrostatically charged due to the peeling, resulting in adhesion of dust particles to the charged transfer paper 14, and that the hot roller 18 and the separating blade 19 are electrostatically charged with static electricity.
In order to solve the problems as described above, a system is being studied in which a peeling roller (not shown), for example, is used as the third roller in addition to the hot roller 18 and the press roller 20, with the peeling roller being provided on a side of the hot roller 18, and a fixing belt made of a flexible composite tubular article comprising a fluoroplastic and a polyimide resin is stretched between the hot roller 18 and the peeling roller, and in which the transfer paper 14 printed with the heat-sensitive ink 9 is passed between the belt and the press roller 20. The fluoroplastic employed in the above fixing belt is excellent in release properties, chemical resistance, and heat resistance, and has conventionally been used in large quantities for release agents, sealing materials, and the like. The above-mentioned polyimide resin is excellent in heat resistance, chemical resistance, electrical insulating properties, mechanical properties, etc. Therefore, the objective of the adoption of the fixing belt made of such a composite tubular article is to simply and effectively attain improved transfer and release properties etc. by employing a fluoroplastic layer, having excellent heat resistance and release properties, as the outer layer and a polyimide resin layer, having excellent heat resistance, electrical insulating properties, and mechanical properties, as the inner layer in the fixing belt. A process for producing such a composite tubular article is described in JP-A-61-95361. (The term "JP-A" used herein means an unexamined published Japanese patent application.) In this production process, a solution of a precursor of polyimide resin is mixed with an electrically conductive fine powder to prepare a liquid mixture, and this mixture is placed in a large-diameter cylindrical vessel and subjected to centrifugal casting with heating, thereby to form a thin layer along the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder. An endless belt (having an electrically conductive layer) made of this thin layer is then formed, and on the surface of the electrically conductive layer of the belt, a fluoroplastic is spray-coated to form a dielectric layer, thereby preparing a photo-insensitive dielectric belt.

Composite tubular article and process for producing the same


The present invention provides polynucleotide sequences encoding high affinity potassium uptake transporters. The polynucleotides of the invention can be used to modulate alkali metal uptake in plants and other organisms.

The present invention relates to isolation and use of genes important in plant nutrition. In particular, it relates to polynucleotides encoding high affinity potassium uptake transporters, recombinant constructs comprising the polynucleotides, and transgenic organisms comprising the polynucleotides.
Potassium (K+) is the most abundant cation in higher plants and plays vital roles for plant nutrition, growth, tropisms, enzyme homeostasis and osmoregulation. Epstein et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 49:684-692 (1963); Kochian et al., Adv. Botany Res. 15:93-177 (1988); and Schroeder et al., Annu. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct. 23:441-471 (1994). Potassium accumulation can be rate-limiting for agricultural production. K.sup.+ -uptake from soils into roots is largely mediated by high-affinity K.sup.+ -uptake (K.sub.m .apprxeq.10-40 .mu.M). Newman et al. Plant Physiol. 84:1177-1184 (1987); Fernando et al., Plant Physiol. 100:1269-1276 (1992); and Maathuis et al. Planta 191:302-307 (1993). While potassium channels allow low-affinity potassium-uptake (Schroeder et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:4108-4112 (1987); Schroeder et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:11583-11587 (1991)), the prior art has yet to elucidate the transport mechanism and structure of the high-affinity potassium nutrition pathway.
High salt levels in soils and the ensuing sodium (Na+) influx into plants severely reduce agricultural production, with .apprxeq.30% of irrigated soils being affected by high salt concentrations worldwide. Greenway et al., Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 31:149-190 (1980). The molecular mechanisms of Na+-uptake into plants remain unknown. It is known, however, that K.sup.+ strongly competes with both Na.sup.+ -and Cs.sup.+ -uptake and Cs.sup.+ toxicity in plant root. Rains et al., Science 148:1611 (1965); Welch et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 61:447-453 (1968); and Sheehan et al., Plant J. 3:647-656 (1993). Thus, information about potassium transporters may be useful in developing plant varieties tolerant of environmental stresses associated with alkali metal toxicities.
Because of its importance to plant nutrition, the isolation and characterization of genes encoding plant proteins involved in potassium uptake would be extremely useful in the engineering of various crop plants. In addition, expression of such genes could be modified as necessary to provide other advantages, such as salt tolerance. The present invention addresses these and other needs.

High-affinity potassium uptake transporter from higher plants

The Regents of the University of California


An identification code generation method and a management method for a non-volatile memory, and a controller and a storage system using the same are provided, and the non-volatile memory has a plurality of physical blocks. The identification code generation method includes testing the physical blocks to obtain an availability state of the physical blocks and identifying a plurality of good physical blocks or bad physical blocks among the physical blocks according to the availability state. The identification code generation method also includes generating a memory identification code corresponding to the non-volatile memory according to the good physical blocks or the bad physical blocks. Thereby, in the present invention, a unique memory identification code is generated and is prevented from being stolen.

1. Technology Field
The present invention generally relates to an identification code generation method and a management method for a memory, and more particularly, to an identification code generation method and a management method for a non-volatile memory and a memory controller and a memory storage system using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with the widespread of digital cameras, cell phones, and MP3 in recently years, the consumers' demand to storage media has increased drastically. Non-volatile memory is one of the most adaptable memories for such battery-powered portable products due to its characteristics such as data non-volatility, low power consumption, small volume, and non-mechanical structure. A memory card is a storage device which uses a NAND flash memory as its storage medium.
Even though non-volatile memory has aforementioned advantages, how to prevent unauthorized distribution of a digital content when the digital content is transmitted by using a non-volatile memory storage medium is a major subject to the publisher of the digital content. For example, a digital music supplier encrypts the digital content stored in a non-volatile memory module by using a memory identification code of the non-volatile memory module so as to prevent the digital content from being distributed to other storage media. However, the digital content stored in the non-volatile memory module can be easily stolen. Namely, a hacker can obtain the memory identification code by analyzing the digital content stored in the non-volatile memory module and then crack the encrypted digital content.
Nothing herein should be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art of any portion of the present invention. Furthermore, citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention, or that any reference forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art.

Memory management method, controller, and storage system


An electrical device in which an element composed of a conductive polymer composition is positioned in contact with the first surface of a metal electrode, the first surface having a center line average roughness Ra and a reflection density RD, the product Ra times RD being 0.5 to 1.6 xcexcm. The conductive polymer composition preferably exhibits PTC behavior. In a second embodiment an electrical device has an element composed of a conductive polymer composition in contact with the first surface of a metal electrode produced by providing a base metal foil having an Ra of at most 0.45 xcexcm and depositing material onto the base metal foil to form a first surface having a product of Ra times RD of at least 0.14 xcexcm. Other embodiments include electrical devices with metal electrodes made by pulse plating processes, and metal electrodes made by electrodeposition under diffusion-limited conditions. The electrical devices may be circuit protection devices and have improved electrical and physical properties.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical devices comprising conductive polymer compositions, to methods of making such devices, and to circuits comprising such devices.
2. Introduction to the Invention
Electrical devices comprising conductive polymer compositions are well known. Such devices comprise an element composed of a conductive polymer. The element is physically and electrically connected to at least one electrode suitable for attachment to a source of electrical power. The factors determining the type of electrode used include the specific application, the configuration of the device, the surface to which the device is attached, the resistance of the device, and the nature of the conductive polymer. Among those types of electrodes that have been used are solid and stranded wires, metal foils, perforated and expanded metal sheets, porous electrodes, and conductive inks and paints. When the conductive polymer element is in the form of a sheet or a laminar element, metal foil electrodes that are directly attached to the surface of the conductive polymer, sandwiching the element, are particularly preferred. Examples of such devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,426,633 (Taylor), 4,689,475 (Matthiesen), 4,800,253 (Kleiner et al), 4,857,880 (Au et al), 4,907,340 (Fang et al), 4,924,074 (Fang et al), 5,831,510 (Zhang et al), 5,852,397 (Chan et al), 5,864,281 (Zhang et al), and 5,874,885 (Chandler et al), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Metal foils having microrough surfaces can give excellent results when used as electrodes in contact with conductive polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,475 discloses the use of metal foils that have surface irregularities, e.g. nodules, which protrude from the surface by 0.1 to 100 xcexcm and have at least one dimension parallel to the surface which is at most 100 xcexcm. U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,253 discloses the use of metal foils with a microrough surface which comprises macronodules which themselves comprise micronodules. U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,885 discloses the use of a metal electrode made of more than one type of metal with particular surface characteristics. Other documents which disclose the use of metal foils having rough surfaces, but which do not disclose the characteristics of the foils, are Japanese Patent Kokai No. 62-113402 (Murata, 1987), Japanese Patent Kokoku H4-18681 (Idemitsu Kosan, 1992), and German Patent Application No. 3707494A (Nippon Mektron Ltd., 1988). U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,668 discloses the use of a modified polyolefin with a carboxylic acid derivative grafted onto the polymer in combination with certain foils. The disclosure of each of these documents is incorporated herein by reference.
Desired properties of electrode materials for conductive polymer devices include: a low contact resistance to the polymer; a strong bond which will survive extended and repetitive electrical and/or mechanical stresses and adverse environmental conditions such as extreme temperatures, temperature cycling, heat and humidity; compatibility with conventional fabrication techniques; and low cost.
We have found that improved electroding for conductive polymers can be accomplished by using foil having a combination of surface features making up the surface roughness which is in a range lower than that previously used. Until now, the primary mechanism proposed for forming a good bond between conductive polymers and metal foils has been mechanical interlocking achieved by using a rough surface on the metal foil, wherein the surface of the foil is imbedded into the conductive polymer by heating the polymer above its melting point during the electroding process. The resulting devices can have low contact resistance and good electrical performance. However, we have found that excellent performance can be achieved by fabricating devices with metal foils that have a surface roughness parameter described by the product of two characteristic measurements of surface properties. Devices made by the present invention demonstrate low electrical resistance indicating low contact resistance at the electrode-polymer interface, resistance stability following thermal cycling, and improved resistance stability during and following prolonged and repeated electrical stress.
Ra is a measure of one aspect of surface roughness known as xe2x80x9ccenter line average roughness,xe2x80x9d which relates to an average value of the height of protrusions from a surface and is further described below. The measurement of the average value of height of protrusions, however, does not give any information about the density, distribution, or nature of the protrusions (e.g. spiked, rounded, etc.). A measurement of the reflection density RD of the surface (described below) gives a value which relates to the amount of light reflected from a surface using fixed incident light parameters, and thus gives a measure of the amount of structure on the surface on a size scale comparable to the wavelength of the light (i.e., visible light, around 600 nm). A shiny smooth surface will give a low reflection density, as most of the light will be reflected. The combination of Ra and RD can be used to describe the surface of a foil, and it is especially useful to multiply Ra by RD to describe the surface of the foil.
Foils that have lower surface roughness characteristics than those previously used can be less expensive than those with higher surface roughness. In addition, lamination of viscous or highly filled conductive polymer compositions using melt processing can be facilitated by the use of lower structure foils since it is easier to imbed features of smaller average height into the viscous compositions. For example, a faster line speed can be allowed since less time is required for the polymer to flow around and fill in a structured foil surface. In a foil which has a surface which is relatively rough, it is possible that the conductive polymer composition will not fill in completely around the features of the foil surface, resulting in trapped air pockets which disrupt the electrical continuity and provide points of failure at the interface, especially under electrical stress or environmental aging. The use of lower roughness foil with smaller protrusions can enable the effective lamination of conductive polymers at much lower temperatures, which is advantageous for some applications since it is known that some conductive polymer properties can be sensitive to thermal history. We have found that foils with submicron protrusions that are present with sufficient density can make excellent electrical and mechanical bonds with these polymers.
Additionally, an adhesion promoting layer such as a coupling agent can be used between the foil and the conductive element. The use of adhesion promoting layers in combination with foils having certain roughness characteristics is described in copending commonly assigned application Ser. No. 09/606,821 (Becker et al.), filed contemporaneously with this application, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In a first aspect, this invention provides an electrical device comprising
(A) an element which
(1) has first and second surfaces and
(2) comprises a conductive polymer composition, and
(B) a first metal foil electrode which
(1) comprises
(a) a first surface having (i) a center line average roughness Ra xcexcm, and, (ii) a reflection density RD, the product Ra times RD being 0.5 to 1.6 xcexcm, and
(b) a second surface, and
(2) is positioned so that the first surface of the electrode is in contact with the conductive polymer element.
In a second aspect, this invention provides an electrical device comprising
(A) an element comprising a conductive polymer composition and
(B) a first metal foil electrode which
(1) is produced by
(a) providing a base metal foil having a first surface having a center line average roughness Ra of at most 0.45 xcexcm, and
(b) depositing material to provide protrusions onto the first surface of the base metal foil,
(2) comprises
(a) a first surface having (i) a center line average roughness Ra xcexcm and (ii) a reflection density RD, the product Ra times RD being at least 0.14 xcexcm, and
(b) a second surface, and
(3) is positioned so that the first surface of the electrode is in contact with the conductive polymer element.
In a third aspect, this invention provides an electrical device comprising:
(A) an element comprising a conductive polymer composition,
(B) a first metal foil electrode which comprises
(1) a first surface which is attached to the conductive polymer element and has
(a) a center line average roughness Ra xcexcm, and
(b) a reflection density RD, the product Ra times RD being at least 0.14 xcexcm, and
(2) a second surface, and
(C) a crosslinking agent positioned between the first electrode and the conductive polymer element.
In a fourth aspect, this invention provides a process for making an electrical device, said process comprising:
(A) providing an element comprising a conductive polymer composition,
(B) providing a first metal electrode having
(1) a first surface having a center line average roughness Ra and a reflection density RD such that the product Ra times RD is at least 0.14 xcexcm, and
(2) a second surface,
(C) positioning at least one crosslinking agent between the conductive polymer and the first surface of the first metal electrode, and
(D) securing the first surface of the metal electrode to the conductive polymer element with the crosslinking agent therebetween.
In a fifth aspect, this invention provides an electrical device, the device comprising
(A) an element comprising a conductive polymer composition and
(B) in contact with the element, a metal electrode comprising
(1) a base metal foil and
(2) first and second surfaces, said first surface comprising
(a) protrusions having a maximum height of 1 xcexcm and
(b) a reflection density RD of at least 0.6.
In a sixth aspect, this invention provides an electrical device, the device comprising
(A) an element comprising a conductive polymer composition and
(B) a metal electrode, the metal electrode comprising
(1) a base metal foil,
(2) a first surface which
(a) comprises dendritic metal structures, and
(b) is in contact with the element, and
(3) a second surface.
In a seventh aspect, this invention provides an electrical circuit which comprises
(1) a source of electrical power;
(2) a load; and
(3) an electrical device, e.g. a circuit protection device, of the first, second, third, fifth or sixth aspect of the invention electrically connecting the source and the load.

Electrical devices containing conductive polymers


A timing circuit for sounding an alarm for left-on main power switches, particularly in aircraft, includes a detector circuit for a secondary circuit of a complete circuit, a clock circuit controlled by the main power switch and an audioalarm circuit activated by the clock circuit when the main power switch is left on for a predetermined time following shut off of the secondary circuit.

This invention relates to a circuit for connection of multiple branch circuitry for providing an alarm for indicating that the main power switch has been accidently left on.
Propeller driven aircraft have an extensive electrical circuitry including circuits for operating components of an engine, circuits for instruments, circuits for lights; circuits for radios and other avionics, circuits for operation of electro-mechanical devices, etc. Such circuits are controlled by on-off switches, but the primary control is the main battery switch which over-rides most electric circuits and provide power for all the circuits. Internal combustion piston engines for aircraft usually are provided with ignition current from magnetos, most commonly two to an engine. The magneto circuit includes a multiple position switch, and the circuit will only operate with the magneto switch on. Most of the other circuits can only actuate with the main power switch in the on position. Some circuits are actuated on turning on the main power switch, so that it acts as the on-off switch for such circuits. Thus, when the main power switch is turned on, some circuits are actuated and there is a drain on the aircraft battery. While the drain is not large, it will run down a battery over a relatively short period of time.
In many light, single engine aircraft, a key ignition lock is provided as a safety precaution against unauthorized use. The ignition lock is, also, usually the starter switch, but for engine operation, the main power switch is required to be in the "on" position, and the magneto switch must be in the "both" position. The engine may be started, and any of the other desired circuits may be activated. When the flight is completed, the pilot should turn off the circuits to the lights, radios, etc. and the engine is stopped by turning the magneto switch to "off". Immediately prior to departure from the aircraft cockpit, the main power switch should be turned off. However, it not infrequently happens that the pilot fails to turn off the main power switch, with the result of a dead battery. Since a number of switches must be turned off, and considerable noise is audiable from running down gyro instruments, even very experienced pilots as well as novices have left the main power switch "on", with the resultant "dead" battery for the next use of the aircraft.


An injection molding machine includes complementary mold members which cooperate to present a mold cavity in the shape of a clay pigeon or other articles. An injection passage leading to the mold cavity receives a slidable pin of smaller diameter than the passage. The pin has a tapered tip which, when the pin is extended by a power cylinder, seats in an outlet opening of the passage to block the opening in a manner to prevent the formation of a sprue on the part. The pin is heated along with a surrounding sleeve to maintain the material in the passage in a molten state and to assure proper release of the part from the mold. When the pin is retracted, molding material is able to flow around it, through the injection passage, and into the mold cavity.

This invention relates generally to injection molding and deals more particularly with an improved method and apparatus for molding various types of articles such as clay pigeons and the like.
At present, clay pigeons are typically formed on complication molding machines which are operated by cam devices. These machines are usually circular in shape and require a large number of carefully timed movements of the various operating components. Consequently, such machines are highly complex and costly, as well as being difficult to maintain in proper working order. Furthermore, due to the arrangement of the mold and the manner in which the molding is carried out, the parts often exhibit "flashing", i.e., burrs and rough areas on the edges.
Other types of molding machines have similar drawbacks. For example, injection molding equipment of the type currently used to mold simple plastic articles requires high pressure injection of the molding material. As a result, complicated clamping devices and high pressureseals are necessary, and additional problems inherently associated with high pressure operation are encountered. It is common for machines of this type to be equipped with an insert piece having a small diameter orifice through which the material is forced into the mold cavity. The material located in the orifice forms a sprue on the part which is difficult and expensive to remove.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for molding clay pigeons and other articles such as chinaware, ceramic items, and various types of plastic products.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus of the character described wherein the molded article is easily released from the mold. This important feature is achieved by providing a pin member in the injection passage which is heated to a high enough temperature to assure proper release of the part while avoiding undue damage to it.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus of the character described which avoids the formation of sprues, flashing, or other significant imperfections on the part.
A further object of the invention is to provide a molding machine of the character described in which the temperatures and movements of the parts are accurately controlled.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a molding machine of the character described which operates at relatively low pressure.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a molding machine of the character described which is simple and economical to construct and which operates reliably without undue maintenance requirements.
Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following description.

Method and apparatus for molding clay pigeons and the like


A cathode ray tube including a pair of supports arranged in parallel facing each other and a shadow mask acting as a color selection electrode including a large number of apertures. The shadow mask is stretched and held by the supports in a state in which tension is applied by the supports. In the shadow mask before being stretched onto the supports, the shapes of the apertures are varied so that the width of the apertures in the middle portion in the direction in which tension is to be applied narrows gradually from the central portion towards the both end portions in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the support. Thereby, the shapes of the apertures can be made to be uniform over the entire surface in a state in which the shadow mask is stretched. As a result, a cathode ray tube with less color unevenness can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cathode ray tube. More specifically, it relates to a cathode ray tube having a shadow mask stretched with the application of tension in one direction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a color cathode ray tube, a phosphor screen formed on an inner surface of a face panel is irradiated with electron beams emitted from an electron gun, and a desired image is displayed. At the side of the electron gun of the phosphor screen, a shadow mask acting as a color selection electrode is provided at a predetermined space from the phosphor screen. The shadow mask has a large number of substantially rectangular-shaped apertures (electron beam through holes) arranged so that the electron beams can strike the phosphors in predetermined positions.
When the electron beams impinge on the shadow mask, the shadow mask is thermally expanded. Thereby, the positions of the apertures are displaced and the electron beams passing through the apertures do not strike the phosphors in predetermined positions correctly, which can lead to color unevenness. Such a phenomenon is referred to as xe2x80x9cdoming.xe2x80x9d In order to prevent this, the shadow mask is stretched and held by a mask frame in a state in which tension is applied to the shadow mask in advance so as to absorb the thermal expansion due to the temperature increase. Thus, even if the temperature of the shadow mask is increased, it is possible to reduce the amount of relative displacement between the apertures of the shadow mask and the phosphor stripes formed on the phosphor screen.
The phosphor screen can be obtained by forming and arranging black stripes having a substantially rectangular grid shape whose longitudinal direction is the vertical direction; and then sequentially forming phosphors corresponding to each color of red, green and blue in the apertures of the black stripes. The black stripes are formed through exposing to light via the shadow mask, which has been stretched as mentioned above and installed to the face panel.
Recently, with development of computer technology, etc., an image with high definition has been demanded and the pitch of display pixels is becoming finer. Namely, the width of the aperture of the shadow mask and the arrangement pitch of black stripes are becoming finer. Accordingly, there arises a problem in that color unevenness in a display image occurs over the entire screen.
The present inventors have investigated the cause of the color unevenness and found that it is because the apertures of black stripes are formed nonuniformly over the entire screen.
FIGS. 10A and 10B are partially enlarged views schematically showing black stripes formed on the inner surface of the face panel. The vertical direction on both drawings corresponds to the vertical direction of the screen of the cathode ray tube. FIG. 10A shows an ideal pattern of the black stripes. When the black stripes are formed in a line pattern including a large number of uniform parallel lines as shown in FIG. 10A, color unevenness does not occur. However, in the cathode ray tube in which color unevenness occurs as mentioned above, as shown in FIG. 10B, lightness and darkness periodically appear in lines, and thus the black stripes are formed in a checked pattern.
As a result of further investigation, the reason why the black stripes are formed in the checked pattern as mentioned above is because the shapes of the apertures of the shadow mask used at the time of formation of the black stripes are deformed into a shape different from the designed shape.
FIGS. 11A and 11B are partially enlarged views showing apertures of a shadow mask stretched and held by a mask frame. In FIGS. 11A and 11B, the arrow T illustrates tension applied to the shadow mask.
As shown in the drawings, in the conventional shadow mask, the apertures, which are formed in a substantially rectangular shape before the shadow mask is stretched onto the mask frame, are deformed when the shadow mask is stretched and held by the mask frame with the application of tension T. The aperture is deformed into, for example, a xe2x80x9cbobbin shapexe2x80x9d in which the width (width of the aperture in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which tension T is applied) of the aperture of the substantially middle portion in the direction in which tension T is applied becomes narrow (see FIG. 11A); or on the contrary, a xe2x80x9cbarrel shapexe2x80x9d in which the width of the aperture of the substantially middle portion in the direction in which tension T is applied becomes large (see FIG. 11B). The deformation of the apertures into the bobbin shape or barrel shape may lead to formation of the black stripes having the checked pattern as shown in FIG. 10B.
Furthermore, whether the aperture of the shadow mask is deformed into the bobbin shape or the barrel shape depends on the size of the cathode ray tube (i.e., the size of the shadow mask), the magnitude of tension applied, and the like. Furthermore, even on one shadow mask, the apertures may be deformed in a different way depending on the positions on the screen (i.e. a central portion versus a peripheral portion on the screen).
The shapes of the apertures of the shadow mask, which should be of a uniform rectangular shape over the entire screen, are varied into various shapes as mentioned above, by stretching the shadow mask onto the mask frame. When the shapes of the apertures of the shadow mask are different in accordance with the positions on the screen, black stripes also are formed in different patterns in accordance with the positions on the screen, that is, in the line pattern as shown in FIG. 10A in one part and in the checked pattern as shown in FIG. 10B in another part. Therefore, shapes of the phosphors of red, green and blue formed in the apertures of the black stripes become different in one screen, which may lead to a problem, for example, an occurrence of color unevenness between the central portion and the peripheral portion on the screen.
With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cathode ray tube having less color unevenness by forming all the apertures on the entire screen to have substantially uniform shapes as desired in a state in which the shadow mask is stretched.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has the below-mentioned configurations.
According to the present invention, a cathode ray tube includes a pair of supports arranged in parallel facing each other, and a shadow mask acting as a color selection electrode including a large number of apertures. The shadow mask is stretched and held by the supports in a state in which tension is applied by the supports. In the cathode ray tube, in the shadow mask before being stretched onto the supports, the shapes of the aperture are varied so that the width of the aperture in the middle portion in the direction in which tension is to be applied gradually narrows from a central portion towards both end portions in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the support.
With such a configuration, by using the shadow mask that has apertures whose shapes are varied in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which tension is to be applied before the shadow mask is stretched, it is possible to obtain the apertures having uniform shapes over the entire surface in a state in which the shadow mask is stretched. As a result, a cathode ray tube with less color unevenness can be provided.
It is preferable that in the shadow mask before being stretched onto the supports, the width of the shadow mask in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the support is wide in the both end portions and narrow in the middle portion in the direction in which tension is to be applied. Furthermore, it is preferable that tension applied to the shadow mask in the central portion is larger than tension applied to the shadow mask in the both end portions in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the support.
As examples of the shapes of the apertures, for example, in the shadow mask before being stretched onto the supports, the apertures formed in the central portion in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the support have a barrel shape having a large width in the middle portion in the direction in which tension is to be applied, and the apertures formed in the both end portions in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the support have a bobbin shape having a narrow width in the middle portion in the direction in which tension is to be applied.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A double chuck type mechanical pencil comprising a lead tank 4 slidably provided within an axial tube 1, a rear chuck 5 for drawing out a lead fixedly mounted on the front end of the lead tank 4, a chuck ring 6 loosely fitted in the rear chuck 5, a rear resilient component 8 for biasing rearward the tank 4 and the rear chuck 5, a front chuck 11 for holding a lead connected to the rear chuck 5 through a connecting means 7, 9, a front resilient 10 component for biasing rearward the front chuck 11 disposed within a tip member 2 provided in the front of the axial tube 1, and a loosely fitted tube 12 at least having a stopper portion 12b at the rear end provided in an opening portion of the tip member 2, and thereby preventing abrasion around an opening at the extreme end of the tip member 2 caused by impingement of the front chuck 11, and not giving rise to twisting of the lead caused by rotation of the chucks 5, 11.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a double chuck type mechanical pencil provided with a rear chuck for drawing out a lead in a fixed amount having a chuck ring loosely fitted thereon, and a front chuck for preventing a lead from retreating.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, various double chuck type mechanical pencils have been proposed for mainly reducing a loss of a lead. However, in the double chuck type mechanical pencil of this kind, where a lead is held by two chucks, when one chuck is rotated for some reason, the held lead is twisted and becomes broken. In such a case as described, chips of the broken lead remain in and between the front chuck and the rear chuck to disturb the drawing-out of a lead, and when a posterior lead is pushed out after the preceding lead was broken, the broken chips of the preceding lead are deviated from the posterior lead, thereby making it impossible to draw out the posterior lead.
For overcoming such an inconvenience as described above, a double chuck type mechanical pencil has been proposed in which a rear chuck cannot be rotated, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-228087, for example.
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated the double chuck type mechanical pencil disclosed in the above publication. The double chuck type mechanical pencil comprises a tip member 22 provided in the front portion of an axial tube 21, an end chuck 25 incorporated in the tip member 22 and biased rearward in a longitudinal direction by means of a front spring 23 to hold a lead 24, and a draw-out chuck 26 positioned rearward in a longitudinal direction from the end chuck 25 to draw out the lead 24, wherein a connector 28 connected to the draw-out chuck 26 can be slidably moved in a longitudinal direction but cannot be rotated with respect to an inner sleeve 27 connected to the tip member 22.
More particularly, axially extending key ways 27a are formed in the inner sleeve 27, keys 28a of the connector 28 are engaged with the key ways 27a to make the draw-out chuck 26 unrotatable, and the lead 24 held between the end chuck 25 and the draw-out chuck 26 is prevented from being twisted and snapped off.
In the conventional mechanical pencil as described above, however, particularly where the tip member is formed of synthetic resin, the end chuck collides with the extreme end of the tip member during use to wear that portion, resulting in inaccuracy of fitting relative to the end chuck and raising the possibility that the mechanical pencil becomes inoperative.
Further, where the tip member is prepared with a metal having abrasion resistance, the construction of the tip member becomes complicated so that it takes time to finish an opening diameter of the tip member with accuracy by plating, etc., in terms of the outside diameter of the end chuck. Further, since a large tip member is bored to form an opening, a burr tends to occur in the opening. Accordingly, there occurs an inconvenience that accuracy of the opening diameter is low and it takes time to remove the burr so that cost increases.
Furthermore, according to the prior art, for eliminating snapping-off of a lead held between both the chucks caused by twisting thereof, detent of the rear chuck and locking or adhesion between the tip member and the axial tube are necessary, which parts are complicated in construction, posing an inconvenience that it takes time to manufacture and assemble parts, increasing the cost.


An antenna switching device of the present invention includes: a transmitting terminal for receiving a transmitting signal; a first antenna terminal connected to a first antenna; a second antenna terminal connected to a second antenna; a receiving terminal for outputting receiving signals received at the first antenna terminal and the second antenna terminal; a selecting unit for selecting one mode among a first mode for outputting a signal corresponding to the transmitting signal to the first antenna terminal, a second mode for outputting the receiving signal received at the first antenna to the receiving terminal, and a third mode for outputting the receiving signal received at the second antenna to the receiving terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna switching device or an antenna switching duplexer for use in a radio communication apparatus such as a digital portable radio telephone performing radio communication by selectively connecting an antenna to a transmitter or a receiver, i.e., using a TDMA (time division multiple access) system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, a single-pole double throw switch (hereinafter, referred to as an SPDT switch) has been used for selectively connecting an antenna to a transmitter or a receiver in mobile communication equipment. An exemplary conventional SPDT switch will be described with reference to FIG. 7.
FIG. 7 shows a circuit configuration of a conventional SPDT switch. The SPDT switch includes a first signal terminal 601, a second signal terminal 602, a third signal terminal 603, a control terminal 604, PIN (positive-intrinsic-negative) diodes 605 and 606, a strip line 607 having a 1/4 wavelength of a signal frequency, a resistor 608, an inductor 609, and capacitors 610, 611, 612, and 613. The resistor 608, the inductor 609, and the capacitor 611 constitute a control circuit. One end of the capacitor 611 is connected to one end of the inductor 609, and the other end of the capacitor 611 is grounded. The capacitors 610, 612, and 613 function as direct-current blocking capacitors.
This conventional SPDT switch is used as a transmit-receive switch. The operation of the SPDT switch as a transmit-receive switch will be described. It is noted that in this case, the first, second, and third signal terminals 601, 602, and 603 work as a transmitting terminal, an antenna terminal, and a receiving terminal, respectively.
When a signal is transmitted from the antenna terminal, a positive voltage is applied to the control terminal 604. A control current flows through the control terminal 604, the resistor 608, the inductor 609, the PIN diode 605, the strip line 607, and the PIN diode 606 in this order. Associated with the flow of the control current, the impedance between an anode and a cathode of the PIN diodes 605 and 606 becomes low. The low impedance state between the anode and the cathode of the PIN diode 606 renders an electrical potential at one end of the strip line 607 connected to the anode of the PIN diode 606 at almost a ground level. This causes the impedance at the other end of the strip line 607 with respect to the antenna terminal 602 to be remarkably increased. As a result, a transmitting signal input from the transmitting terminal 601 is outputted from the antenna terminal 602 but is not outputted from the receiving terminal 603.
When a signal is received from the antenna terminal, no voltage is applied to the control terminal 604. Since no control current flows, the impedance between the anode and the cathode of the respective PIN diodes 605 and 606 becomes high. As a result, a receiving signal input from the antenna terminal 602 is outputted from the receiving terminal 503 but is not outputted from the transmitting terminal 601.
As described above, an antenna is selectively connected to a transmitter or a receiver by using the conventional SPDT switch.
However, in the case where the above-mentioned SPDT switch is applied to a diversity system capable of providing superior receiving characteristics in mobile radio communication, there arise problems. That is, since the diversity system utilizes two antennas, two SPDT switches are required for the system. In this case, the number of components included in a communication apparatus is increased, making it difficult to realize a miniaturized apparatus and rendering the loss of signal in the apparatus large.

Antenna diversity switching device with switching circuits between the receiver terminal and each antenna

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The non-asbestos, frictional material composition comprising a fibrous metal, carbon powder manufactured by sintering a mixture of coke and pitch, a hardening agent, a heat-resistant agent, and a filler for stabilizing the composition. The process for manufacturing the composition comprising manufacturing the fibrous metal and carbon powder, inserting the composition in a predetermined mold and molding the composition, and hardening the molded composition for a time.

This invention relates to a non-asbestos, frictional material composition and more particularly, to a brake lining and a brake pad which has a desirable lubricant property in a dry or humid atmosphere, and which is not affected by temperature nor wears out readily and produces little noise.
Safety in driving a transportation means, such as an automobile, railway vehicle or airplane, largely depends on the function of a brake for speed control.
The function of a brake is particularly important in case of a vehicle driving at high speed or of a truck transporting heavy equipment. The brake, under any conditions, should operate punctually.
Any brake having a frictional material attached is a device which converts the kinetic energy of a vehicle into heat, and consumes the heat. Accordingly, it is very important to choose a frictional material.
Braking ability is limited by the frictional force between tires and the road surface. When the frictional force of the brake is great, the tires are locked completely, resulting in the wear of the tires. When the frictional force of the brake is little, the brake distance of the vehicle gets long, resulting in the brake ability being lost.
Accordingly, a frictional material for a brake is required to have a desirable coefficient of friction (0.28 and above), and to be worn out scarcely.
In the aspect of stability, a coefficient of friction is preferably large. However, an exceedingly large coefficient of friction will cause a great amount of wear and vibration, thus producing noise.
A great amount of wear of a frictional material will result in the lives of the frictional material being shortened. This requires frequent replacement of the frictional material, which is uneconomical. Furthermore, the production of noise and vibration gives an uneasy feeling to a driver.
In recent vehicles the engine sound or driving sound produced when the tires contact with the ground surface, is improved greatly, resulting in noise during driving being suppressed. Accordingly, evem a slight noise or even a slight sound of a brake will give an unpleasant feeling to a driver.
To overcome the above-described disadvantages, a lubricant has been added.
Presently used lubricants are carbon (graphite), molybdenum disulfide and calcium carbonite. Of these carbon is in more general use.
There are two kinds of friction compositions, i.e, semimetal friction compositions and asbestos friction composition.
The asbestos friction composition comprises 20 to 60 parts by weight of asbestos powder of 5 or 6 grade, 35 to 65 parts by weight of inorganic filler and 30 to 40 parts by weight of phenol resin, auxiliary resin or plasticizer. Cermet powder containing 65 to 80% of carbon component and 20 to 35% ferric iron component may be substituted for some or all of the inorganic filler.
The inorganic filler refers to conventional calcium carbonite, barium sulfate, alumina, barium sulfate, talc, kaolin, mullite, calcium silicate, silicate in powder form, silica in minute powder form, metal (i.e, copper, iron, brass, aluminum or zinc) in powder form, and metal oxide.
Conventional frictional materials where the main component of the inorganic filler, cermet powder, contains 25 to 35% iron component, is readily oxidized and corroded when exposed to the atmosphere for a long period, resulting in a sudden lowering of the frictional function. Furthermore, the strength and wear resisting property of the conventional frictional material will be suddenly lowered by absorbed moisture.
The conventional frictional material is excellent in breaking ability, but generates excessive heat by excessive frictional breaking, thus being oxidized readily. Furthermore, since the conventional frictional material lacks frictional stabilization at high temperature, the brake will not be applied smoothly, thus producing noise.
In addition, since the conventional frictional composition contains asbestos, asbestos dust will be produced during manufacture or when in use. This makes the circumference of tires dirty and causes environmental disruption. Furthermore, the absorption of the asbestos dust will cause various diseases which are hard to cure, i.e, cancer.
In the conventional frictional material, since the inorganic filler contains 65 to 80% of carbon, the amount of wear will be increased and a noise will be produced in dry weather during winter. On the contrary, in humid weather during summer, tires will skid.
The reason why a lubricant of graphite in conventional frictional material is readily affected by humidity is that moisture in the air is adsorbed in or between the crystals of the graphite.

Non-asbestos, frictional material composition and method of making same


A liquid crystal display device has a liquid crystal composition sandwiched between a pair of substrates, and a plurality of pixels disposed on one of the first substrates. Each of the pixels is supplied with a video signal via a switching element connected to a first electrode thereof, and is provided with a capacitance. One of two capacitance-forming electrodes forming the capacitance is connected to the first electrode of a corresponding one of the pixels, and another of the two capacitance-forming electrodes is supplied with a pixel-potential control signal. Polarity of the video signal reverses with respect to a first reference voltage with a repetition period, and the pixel-potential control signal alternates between two voltage levels of same polarity with respect to a second reference voltage such that a voltage swing on the first electrodes of the pixels becomes larger than that of the video signal.

This invention relates a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly to a technique useful for a circuit for supplying a video signal voltage to each pixel.
Recently, liquid crystal display devices have been widely used in small-sized display devices, display terminals for office automation equipment and the like. Basically, a liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel (also called a liquid crystal display element or a liquid crystal cell) composed of a pair of insulating substrates at least one of which is made of a transparent plate, a transparent plastic plate or the like, and a layer of liquid crystal composition (a liquid crystal layer) sandwiched between the insulating substrates.
The liquid crystal display devices are divided roughly into the simple-matrix type and the active matrix type. In the simple-matrix type liquid crystal display device, a picture element (hereinafter a pixel) is formed by selectively applying voltages to pixel-forming strip electrodes formed on both of the two insulating substrates of the liquid crystal display panel, and thereby changing orientation of a portion of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal composition corresponding to the pixel. On the other hand, in the active-matrix type liquid crystal display device, the liquid crystal display panel is provided with signal lines, scanning lines, pixel electrodes, and active elements each associated with one of the pixel electrodes for pixel selection which are formed on one of the substrates, and a pixel is formed by selecting the active element associated with the pixel and thereby changing orientation of liquid crystal molecules present between a pixel electrode connected to the active element and the reference voltage electrode associated with the pixel electrode.
The liquid crystal display device of the active matrix type having an active element (a thin film transistor, for example) for each of pixels and switching the active elements is widely used as a display device for notebook personal computers and the like. Among the liquid crystal display devices of the active matrix type, a liquid crystal display device of the so-called driver-circuit-integrated type is known which has a pixel-electrode-driver circuit fabricated on a substrate on which the pixel electrodes are fabricated. The liquid crystal display devices are operated by AC driving which inverts the polarity of a voltage applied across the liquid crystal layer periodically. The object of the AC driving is to prevent deterioration of the liquid crystal composition caused by DC voltage application across the liquid crystal layer.
For the active matrix type liquid crystal display device which applies voltages between the pixel electrodes and the reference electrode, one of the AC driving methods is such that a fixed voltage is applied on the reference electrode and the pixel electrodes are supplied alternately with positive-polarity and negative-polarity signal voltages. However, in the above AC driving method, the driver circuit needs to be a high-voltage circuit capable of withstanding a voltage difference between the maximum positive value and the maximum negative value of the pixel electrode voltage. A control signal (a scanning signal) for on-or-off control of the thin film transistors also need to be a high voltage.
Recently, the number of steps of a gray scale displayed in the liquid crystal display devices has been increasing to 64 or 256. There is also demand for high-definition liquid crystal display devices having a larger number of pixels. When the number of steps of a gray scale to be displayed, the circuit becomes large in scale, and when the number of pixels is increased, the driving circuit for supplying signals to the respective pixels is operated at high speed, and an area which each of the pixels can occupy is reduced. On the other hand, in high-voltage circuits it is difficult to miniaturize their circuit elements, and as a result the scale of the circuits becomes larger. Especially in small-sized liquid crystal display panels, even when there is a demand for an increase in the number of pixels, it has been difficult to fabricate a structure such as a high-voltage active element within a limited area of each pixel. Further, in a liquid crystal display device of the driver-circuit-integrated type having a driver circuit incorporated into its liquid crystal display panel, a problem arises in that since the area occupied by the driver circuit increases, the liquid crystal display panel becomes large-sized. Moreover, in the high-voltage circuit, there is a problem in that, because the area of its electrodes and others are increased, the resultant increase in their capacitive components makes it difficult to operate the driver circuit at high speed, and also increases its power consumption.

Liquid crystal display device having a low-voltage driving circuit


A silver electrode joint having a high joint strength obtained by actively minimizing the particle size of a silver-zinc intermetallic compound at the solidification point. A joint obtained by joining an article to be joined, the joint including silver at least as the surface layer thereof, using a solder alloy which comprises 2-9 wt % of zinc, 0.0001-0.1 wt % of manganese and the balance consisting of tin, the solder joint having a joint interface wherein the particle size of a silver-zinc intermetallic compound, which is formed by silver being the surface layer of the article to be joined and zinc in the solder alloy, is 5 μm or less.

Lead-tree solder alloys have become desirable in view of environmental concerns in recent years, and a tin-zinc based solder alloy is known as one of those types.
One application of a solder alloy is to join metal to metal at a relatively low melting point. If the metal to be joined has a composition not contained in the solder alloy, the metal to be joined elutes into a molten solder during a soldering operation, that is, a so-called erosion phenomenon occurs. A copper erosion phenomenon or a silver erosion phenomenon occurs when a target to be joined is copper or silver, respectively, and an intermetallic compound is formed of the eluting metal and a part of the solder alloy composition particularly on a joint boundary and is fixed thereto with solidification. Generation of the intermetallic compound between the metal eluting from the soldering target and the metal contained in the solder alloy is unavoidable in soldering, and the generation itself has no problem. However, if a grain size when the generated intermetallic compound is solidified is relatively large, it causes deterioration to progress on the joint boundary over time. That is, in the intermetallic compound formed of a plurality of types of metal, Kirkendall voids appear due to a difference in diffusion speeds of metal atoms, and there is a concern that the void chronologically develops into a crack due to an external factor such as an external stress, a heat cycle and the like, which might result in breakage of the joint boundary in the end.
If the grain size of the intermetallic compound is large, the difference in the diffusion speeds of the metal atoms is considered to have a great influence and to raise a probability of occurrence of Kirkendall voids. Therefore, even if the tin-zinc-based solder is selected, a solidification grain size of an intermetallic compound on the joint boundary is preferably as small as possible depending on the joint.


A lighting device 5 having: a plurality of light sources 7 arranged in a line; each of said light sources 7 having a condenser lens 8 arranged in the optical path 11 of the respective light source 7, wherein said condenser lenses 8 are designed such that light is focused at least in a first plane XZ; at least one cylinder lens 9 in form of a Fresnel lens, arranged in the direction of the optical path behind the condenser lenses 8 wherein said cylinder lens 9 is designed such that light is focused in a second plane YZ, which second plane YZ is arranged traverse to the first plane XZ; and an optical diffuser 10 arranged in the direction of the optical path behind the cylinder lens 9, wherein the optical diffuser 10 is designed such that light is diverged and homogenized in the first plane XZ.

A lighting device is known from EP 1 742 168 A1. Such lighting devices are part of optoelectronic sensors, as they are for example used in the logistics for detecting codes, like for example bar codes or QR-codes on packages. Application fields of such code readers with lighting devices include package sorting and package tracking for parcel and currier services, identification systems in automatic storages, in a luggage sorting system at airports, product loading and unloading systems and in the quality inspection of objects.
Such optoelectronic code readers have cameras, preferably line scan cameras. Packages on conveyor belts pass said cameras. A lighting device is required, which has a line-like illumination in direction of the detection area of the line scan camera. In this case, a homogeneous brightness distribution is especially advantageous within the illuminated line or line of light to ensure the exact detection of the code for the line scan camera.
EP 1 742 168 A1 is concerned with the problem of common arrangements, which have LEDs for the illumination of the detection area. These arrangements do not have additional beam forming (optical) elements and thus, have especially at large distances between the light sources and the area of the illumination a low efficiency or low brightness and furthermore, do not ensure a uniform illumination.
To solve this problem, according to EP 1 742 168 A1 beam forming optical condenser lenses are provided, which are formed the same in the whole arrangement and have a planar face, facing the light source, and on the opposite side have a spherical, aspherical or toric surface. With increasing distance to the receiver optics the LEDs have a different off-axial alignment to the optical axis of the respective condenser lens. By means of this special arrangement of the off-axial alignment of the LEDs to the optical axis of the respective condenser lenses, the main beam direction of the light, radiated from the LEDs, can be influenced such, that a very special illumination profile is produced. In this manner, for example, the edge decrease of the receiver lens can be compensated. The condenser lenses and the cylinder lens form together an anamorphic projection lens, which forms the light of each of the LEDs to one line of light. In this case, each LED forms a single line of light, wherein the lines of light of the several LEDs is superimposed in a detection range to a resulting line of light. The type and manner of the superimposition of the individual lines of light is influenced such, that the light distribution can vary in the resulting line of light.
DE 10 2008 019 084 A1 discloses also a lighting device, which illuminates a narrow, elongated area with high intensity. The device has a plurality of LEDs arranged adjacent to each other on a flat carrier along a line. A conversion device is arranged with a distance to the LEDs in direction of an optical path and extends along the line of LEDs. Said conversion device converts light beams radiated from the LEDs by means of a plurality of light deflecting elements into light beams, which angle distribution is mixed up in at least one plane. Especially diffusing, breaking or diffractive elements are used as light deflecting elements. The light deflection of the light beams radiated by the individual LEDs is carried out such, that a direct visibility of the individual LEDs, when viewing with a camera, is prevented. To achieve a narrow illuminated area, a condenser lens is provided in the optical path behind the light deflecting elements, focusing the light on one strip in order to achieve a line of light.

VITRONIC Dr.-Ing. Stein Bildverarbeitungssysteme GmbH


According to one embodiment, any of a first process to perform a write retry to a write target track, a second process to perform the write retry and perform reading for data verification to an adjacent track, and a third process to perform the write retry and write data of the adjacent track to another track is executed based on a result of comparison between an offtrack amount and a plurality of different slice values.

In a higher-capacity hard disk drive (HDD), a track pitch becomes narrower and it becomes difficult to maintain a uniform track pitch and track pitch abnormality in which the track pitch becomes narrower than a reference track pitch might occur. The track pitch abnormality might have effects of (I) occurring close writing to an adjacent track and (II) adjacent track interference (ATI) on the HDD becomes large.
Measures against the close writing or measures against the ATI are based on a constant track pitch, and the track pitch abnormality is not taken into consideration. Therefore, the measures against the close writing or the measures against the adjacent track interference in which the track pitch abnormality is taken into consideration are required.

Magnetic disk device and control method of magnetic disk


An air delivery and ventilation system for head surgery which is used under a drape including a flexible air supply conduit with discharge at inlet ends, the discharge end being elevated over the chest of the patient by a positioning bracket formed of bendable thin-gauge metal shaped with a pair of legs joined by a circular saddle which engages the discharge end, the pair of legs each being bendable around the opposite shoulder of the patient and inserted thereunder, a plug positioned in the remotely-located inlet end of the supply conduit having a small diameter oxygen passage with a nozzle on the end thereof positioned in the center of the plug along the axis of the conduit with the passage connected to a source of pressurized oxygen to produce a high velocity jet in the supply conduit, the plug further including air passage means surrounding the oxygen passage so as to provide substantial volumes of atmospheric air drawn into the conduit by the venturi action of the high velocity jet to provide low velocity oxygen-enhanced air from the discharge end of the supply conduit.

The invention relates to a ventilation system for head and neck surgery used under a surgical drape so as to prevent the patient from rebreathing carbon dioxide. Excessive amounts of CO.sub.2 in the blood leads to a condition known as hypercapnia. This is a universal problem with all draped head or neck surgeries performed under a local anesthetic. In patients who develop hypercapnia, significant medical problems can arise, such as elevated blood pressure, an increased sensitivity of the heart that can lead to arrhythmia, acute anxiety, claustrophobia, and disorientation.
Providing a surgical drape with support apparatus around the head, along with the provision of pressurized oxygen, is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,223,669 (Morledge) and 3,482,571 (Behrendt), both of which elevate the surgical drape above the patient's face. Additional U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,377,161 (Whitt) and 4,739,753 (Brehm) also teach surgical drape supports and oxygen breathing apparatus approximate the patient's face. In none of the patents previously mentioned is there a venturi action by the use of a high velocity jet within a conduit utilized to draw in additional outside air which is mixed with the high velocity jet and supplied in the area of the patient's face. Also, none of the above mentioned references teach a positioning bracket for the air supply conduit which is bendably positioned around the chest area of the patient as done in the present invention.
Another method commonly used to supply oxygen to patients under a drape is the utilization of a cannula which is inserted directly into the nasal passageway of the patient and provides a pressurized oxygen source directly into the patient's nasal passage. The cannula method does not provide a passage of a breeze of air over the patient's face which not only diminishes the CO.sub.2 levels but also inhibits the claustrophobic feeling a patient sometimes has with a drape in contact with their face.
The general principle of utilizing a high pressure jet in a duct to draw in and pump surrounding stationary air is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,406 (Bartholomew) which is a tracheotomy mask. The high velocity jet in this mask configuration is offset from the axis of the inlet duct since it passes through the wall of the duct and the jet is not positioned along the axis of the duct for optimum performance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,946 (Lemer) is a similar venturi action jet utilized for artificial respiration of a patient which is intermittently valved open and closed. The high speed jet in this patent is likewise offset from the center axis of the duct.

Air delivery and circulation means for a surgical drape


A magnetic actuator includes: a plate having a main plane of extent and mounted rotatably about at least one first axis of rotation which is parallel to the main plane of extent, the plate having at least one conductor loop parallel to the main plane of extent; a magnetic bracket situated beneath the plate and having a U-shaped magnetic flux conducting rail and a hard magnet whose magnetization is perpendicular to the U-shaped opening, the magnetic bracket and the plate being aligned with one another in such a way that the opening in the magnetic bracket points toward the main plane of extent of the plate, the U-shaped magnetic flux conducting rail having a main direction of extent parallel to the first axis of rotation, and the plate being deflectable about the at least one axis of rotation by energizing the at least one conductor loop.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic actuator having a plate, which is mounted rotatably about at least one axis of rotation.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various approaches for magnetically driving micromirrors. The essential advantage of a magnetic drive in comparison with an electrostatic drive is that the torques technically achievable through the magnetic Lorentz force are higher than the torques achievable by electrostatic force.
Published European Patent document EP 778657 B1 proposes a gimbal-mounted mirror which is mounted rotatably about two axes of rotation, an internal axis and an external axis. The axes of rotation are perpendicular to one another. One coil for the internal axis and another coil for the external axis are situated on two gimbal-mounted vibrating bodies. The magnetic field is approximately homogeneous over the entire chip and forms a 45° angle to each of the two axes of rotation. Two configurations are proposed for generating the magnetic field. In a first variant, a micromirror is placed at a 45° angle between two hard magnets (permanent magnets). In a second variant, four magnets of opposing polarities are used. The effective magnetic field, which is available for the corresponding axes, is reduced by a factor of √2 due to the 45° angle. Both variants of the magnetic field generation require a very voluminous configuration.
Published international patent application document WO 2005/078509 A2 also proposes a gimbal-mounted mirror which is mounted rotatably about two axes. However, with this device only one coil is provided for the drive about two axes. A low-frequency quasistatic signal and also a high-frequency resonant signal are applied to this coil. The resonant signal excites the rotation of the internal axis via the so-called "rocking mode."
Published international patent application document WO 2010/065340 A2 describes the relatively complex configuration of permanent magnets of differing polarities and flux conduction layers for generating a magnetic field in a 45° direction. The effective magnetic field perpendicular to the corresponding axes is likewise reduced by the factor of √2.
Published German patent application documents DE 102008042346 A1 and published European patent application document EP 1858141A2 propose configurations for generating a magnetic field component or a torque perpendicular to the quasistatic axis, so that when a high-frequency alternating field is applied, a resonant movement about axis 4b, which is perpendicular to the quasistatic axis, is induced.
In these specific embodiments of a micromirror driven by Lorentz force, unidirectional magnetic fields running in the plane of the chip surface are implemented. A deviation from the preferential direction constitutes an incomplete embodiment. The technical efforts are concentrated on minimizing such incomplete specific embodiments. To achieve a high magnetic field having the greatest possible unidirectionality, the magnetic flux conductor components used are relatively voluminous.
A radially symmetrical magnetic field for implementing a biaxial microscanner is proposed in the publication "Silicon scanning mirror of two DOF with compensation current routing"; Si-Hong Ahn and Yong-Kweon Kim; 3. Micromech. Microeng. 14 (2004) 1455-1461. The radially symmetrical field is implemented by a magnet, whose direction of magnetization is perpendicular to the plane of the chip. The configuration is thus relatively simple, which is an advantage with respect to the manufacturing costs. The fountain shape of the magnetic field lines includes a radial component running in the plane of the chip. Only this component is technically usable, while some of the other components are not usable and some would even lead to undesirable transverse forces. The usable magnetic field strength claimed in the publication is 0.1 T.
The magnetic field is increased by a configuration of two magnets in the publication "Electromagnetic Two-Dimensional Scanner Using Radial Magnetic Field"; Chang-Hyeon Ji, Member, IEEE, Moongoo Choi, Sang-Cheon Kim, Ki-Chang Song, Jong-Uk Bu, Member, IEEE, and Hyo-Jin Nam; Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 16, no. 4, August 2007. The central cylindrical magnet, whose direction of magnetization is perpendicular to the chip surface, is surrounded by a ring-shaped magnet of the opposite polarity. Both magnets are secured on a disk-shaped iron plate, so that a portion of the magnetic flux is returned. The usable magnetic field was increased up to 0.5 T by this configuration, but this design is just as complex as that of scanners, which operate on the basis of a unidirectional magnetic field.
The packaging must be taken into account in ascertaining the manufacturing price of a micromirror. Mounting of magnets during assembly is assessed as being very cost-intensive. Mounting of magnets of differing polarities in particular requires even greater effort during assembly due to the mutual repulsion.
If a hard magnet having one direction of magnetization is used in the case of a magnetic yoke, for example, then the remagnetization may take place after assembly, which would greatly reduce the effort and thus the costs.


This invention relates to a push-control circuit control and display apparatus for multi-purpose power leisure car, and particularly to a display panel including automatic display control circuit and turning-left, turning-right display and buttons; 6-block shift display and buttons; voltage automatic charge warning and LED warning signal buzzer indication and buttons; headlamp button and LED; solenoid brake release LED display and button; horn button, etc. such multiple functions for leisure power car. It comprises a leisure car main body, an automatic display control circuit display panel mounted in the front part of the main body; the automatic control circuit display panel having turning-left, turning-right signal LED, obstacle LED, shift LED, voltage automatic charge warning LED and release buzzer LED, headlamp LED, solenoid brake release LED; the buttons which are made of light-transmission film, if intended for automatic display of the aforesaid functions during running, the user only needs to press down the markings on the panel as desired and therefore easy operation and leisure function can be achieved hereof.

In recent years sports have become increasingly popular in our society. Bicycles, once a conventional and popular traffic, after persistent evolution and improvement, now are in the mainstream of leisure sports among people. Because of low speed and convenience, conventional leisure bicycles also have become widely popular with modern leisure loving groups. Nevertheless, because ordinary bicycles only have manual mechanical control functions such as moving forward/backward, turning, etc., the conventional bicycles don't completely satisfy the need for novelty in the changing leisure market. In view of this, the inventor has developed a multi-purpose leisure car that is totally safe in operation to replace the conventional type of mechanical power meter indication, rotational speed modulation, push-key type display for headlamp, directional signals, obstacle light, brake lamp and horn, etc. which are poor in terms of function. The invention is a mix of electronic control circuits based on related experience in the manufacture of power leisure cars over the years.

Control circuit push-control and display apparatus for multi-purpose power leisure car

7F, No. 2-1, Lane 130, Shing-Yi Road, Pei Tou


A papermaking fabric formed of warp and weft yarns woven endless in a multi-layer uneven weave pattern and heat set to produce set floats in the warp yarns of one length which appear on one surface of the fabric and floats of a different length which appear on a second surface of the fabric. A low profile seam for joining opposite ends of the fabric to form an endless papermaking fabric. The seam is formed by turning warp yarns back and reweaving them lengthwisse into each of the ends with weft yarns in such a manner as to present appropriate ones of the floats on appropriate fabric surfaces. At the same time, loops are formed along the ends in spaced manner. The weft adjacent the end comprise undersized yarns which are woven with the warp yarns to provide longitudinal space along the warp yarns and between the undersized weft yarns. This allows the formation of small loops at the ends by crowding the small weft yarns.

Papermaking fabrics are woven in any number of weave patterns to include patterns for single layer and multi-layer fabrics. Normally, these fabrics are woven endless, cut to length, and a joining seam is formed on each end.
Always of primary importance with papermaking fabrics is wearability, uniform permeability, and evenness or smoothness of the paper sheet support surface. Good wearability produces longer run times and therefore more economy. Uniform permeability allows for even drying which produces a consistent paper sheet. Finally, an even or smooth support surface prevents marks from being formed on the paper product.
Joining seams, while always presenting somewhat of a problem in allowing the papermaking fabric to retain the above characteristics, the problem has not been unsurmountable in most instances. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,026,331; 4,883,096; and 4,976,293 show various techniques employed to form satisfactory seams in single-ply forming fabrics. Because these fabrics are single-ply, the solutions taught do not necessarily apply to multi-ply fabrics.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,186,780; 4,286,631; 4,438,789; and 4,469,142 disclose various solutions to forming joining seams for use with multi-ply fabrics. The basic problem exists because the warp yarns are heat-set after weaving which results in their retaining the crimp structure of the woven fabric. In multi-layer fabrics, this is not a problem as long as the weave is balanced. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,469,142; 4,286,631; and 4,136,780 show such an even weave structure. Here, using '142 as illustrative, floats 62, 66 of equal size are formed on each fabric face. When forming the seaming loop by weaving back the warp yarns, the surface on which float 62 or 66 appears, is of no great consequence as they are evenly configurated. A smooth, evenly porous seam area is formed.
When forming a seam with an uneven weave, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,789, the circumstances are different. The floats appearing on the top surface are of a different length than those appearing on the lower surface. Here, the solution was to disregard the crimp configuration of the warp and to weave them back regardless. This solution produces a rough surface at the seam which marks the paper sheet and also produces uneven permeability.
Another solution is to not turn back the warp until it will properly match up. This solution produces an excessively large pintle receiving loop which allow excessive open area. This arrangement also requires a large pintle which causes the looped warp to extend above the plane of the fabric which produces excess wear.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior seam structures as noted above.
Another object of the invention is to provide, in multi-layer fabrics having uneven weaves, a loop size which fittingly accommodates a small diameter pintle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a smooth support surface in the area of the seam.
Another object of the invention is to maintain a consistent permeability profile throughout the fabric body.
Another object of the invention is to maintain a low profile in the seam so as to reduce wear of the fabric and marking of the paper sheet.

Woven papermaking fabric having low profile seam


A three wheel electric vehicle platform with two wheels in front and one wheel at the rear, a full safety roll cage, a propulsion and steering system operating through the two front wheels, and operator's and passenger's seats mounted in-line along the vehicle centerline. The propulsion system is an electric motor powered by an energy storage device driving a speed reduction and differential with dual outputs suitable for two wheel front drive. The operator's seat is narrower in parts than a conventional automotive seat such that the rear seat passenger's knees can comfortably straddle the operator seat to allow the distance between the two occupants to be less than a typical automobile. The driver's and passenger's heels comfortably fit into recessed wells within the energy storage device, thus allowing the driver's and passenger's center of gravity to be lower, while still maintaining a comfortable sitting position.

1. Field
This invention concerns an ultra efficient vehicle, particularly a three-wheeled electric vehicle suitable for transporting one or two occupants.
2. General Discussion of the Background
There has been increasing demand in recent years for ultra efficient vehicles that carry a lesser energy and environmental footprint than traditional automobiles. Increasing adoption of hybrid vehicles featuring increased fuel efficiency is an example of this trend. Although there is a latent market demand for additional efficiency gains brought by adopting more efficient power systems, such as a battery electric drive, or more energy efficient form factors, such as two or three-wheeled vehicles, with or without a narrow body, most consumers have not chosen such offerings, as they have lacked some or all of the mass market vehicle consumer requirements: familiar feel and controls, ability to operate on all roads, capacity for a second passenger and a minimum level of reliability and perceived safety.
Examples in the prior art include narrow body vehicles proposed for increasing transportation efficiency by carrying one or more people in tandem seating. Such vehicles have three or more wheels to keep them upright when stopped. U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,648, U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,074 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,121 disclose narrow vehicles that utilize tilting mechanisms or ballast to provide stability when turning. Although these vehicles have significant aerodynamic and maneuverability benefits due to their small stature, their ultra-narrow form factors lead to an appearance of lack of stability. U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,622 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,901 disclose narrow three-wheeled vehicles designed to carry one passenger, driven from the rear wheel. The inability to carry a second passenger and rear-drive traction concerns limit the widespread adoption of such vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,121 teaches of the importance of a high rollover threshold for ultra narrow automobiles and the importance of low center of gravity in establishing a high rollover threshold.
All of the prior art vehicles suffer from an appearance of instability or a lack of familiar feel, safety or comfort such that none has been widely adopted.

Narrow body ultra efficient three wheeled electric vehicle with automotive class feel