A service searching system for searching a service in a distributed system comprises a wireless server device and a wireless terminal device. The wireless server device is connected to a network and implements a master search service. On the other hand, the wireless terminal device implements a slave search service, and is capable of communicating with the server by wireless and utilizing the master search service. Besides, the wireless terminal device comprises a storage means that caches service objects obtained through the master search service. In addition, in searching the slave search service for a service, the wireless terminal device begins by searching the service objects cached in the storage means. In the case where the service is not detected, the wireless terminal device searches the master search service. The service objects are cached by being related to priority data. Thereby, there is provided a service searching system comprising a wireless terminal device, which is intended to search for a service in a distributed system in which a range of services are distributed in a network, wherein it is possible to cut down a service-searching time and costs, and further, it is possible to cut down communication interruptions by noise etc. in the wireless communication section compared to the conventional one.

The present invention relates to a service searching system wherein it is possible to receive a desired service delivery by searching for a service using a terminal device in a distributed system, in which a range of services are distributed in a network, and in particular, to a service searching system using a wireless terminal device connected to a network by wireless.


A photographic developing apparatus which visualizes a latent image formed on an image carrier is disclosed which includes:. a developing powder carrier provided so as to be opposite to the image carrier; PA1 a layer forming member for forming a thin layer of developing powder over a circumferential surface of the developing powder carrier; PA1 a charge imparting member which is provided so as to be opposite to the developing powder carrier and causes an electric field between the charge imparting member and the developing powder carrier; and PA1 an electrification control member which is interposed between the charge imparting member and the developing powder carrier, and limits an ionization area caused by electric discharge in the electric field by receiving an intermediate electric potential between the electric potential of the charge imparting member and the electric potential of the developing powder carrier.

The present invention relates to an electrifying apparatus which is used in an electrophotographic apparatus or an electrostatic recorder and imparts electric charge to toner used by an image carrier or for developing purposes, as well as to a photographic developing apparatus which visualizes an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier by applying toner to the image.
One-component developing equipment or two-component developing equipment is known as a photographic developing apparatus for visualizing a latent image formed on an image carrier by adhering toner to the latent image. Such developing equipment has a rotatable developing powder carrier positioned opposite the image carrier. A toner layer or a magnetic brush consisting of two-component developing powder is formed on the developing powder carrier and is carried to the developing area opposite the image carrier. An electric field is formed by applying a developing bias voltage between the developing powder carrier and the image carrier, thereby transferring toner to the latent image on the image carrier.
In order to properly apply the toner to the latent image on the image carrier in the developing area, the developing equipment must impart a predetermined amount of electric charges to the toner. In two-component developing equipment, electric charges are imparted to toner by mixing and stirring it with carriers which are separated from the toner in terms of friction and electrification ranks. A charge-control agent applied to the outside of toner particles may be liberated from the toner particles, and the thus-liberated charge-control agent may contaminate the surface of the carrier. For this reason, if the carrier is used for a long period of time, the liberation of the charge-control agent makes it impossible to impart an electric charge to the toner, whereby the developing powder must be exchanged. Further, a toner concentration controller or developing powder stirring equipment is needed to maintain a toner-carrier ratio constant. Further, a magnet must be provided in the developing powder carrier in order to hold a magnetic carrier, and this makes the developing equipment rather complicated.
In contrast, one-component developing equipment is widely used as an developing apparatus capable of overcoming the foregoing drawbacks of the two-component developing equipment. In one-component developing equipment, a toner layer forming member which is made of an elastic member and is called a blade is pressed against the developing powder carrier. A toner layer of one component is formed on the developing powder carrier, and an electric charge is imparted to the toner by friction and electrification from the toner layer forming member. The blade generally has a low electrification capability for toner, and hence it is difficult to sufficiently electrify all the toner particles. Therefore, there are so-called toner particles of the opposite polarity which are electrified with a polarity opposite to a desired polarity. These toner particles of the opposite polarity cause a background fog. Specifically, the frictional electrification caused by the blade provides a slight chance of bringing the toner in contact with the blade, and toner, particularly, fine toner, may be fed past the layer forming area without being frictionally electrified, so that the toner is not electrified. An increase in pressure for pressing the toner layer forming member against the toner is thought to promote frictional electrification. However, binder resin contained in the toner is fused by frictional heat, and the resultantly-condensed toner becomes attached to the blade, thereby resulting in white lines being formed on an image.
To solve the problems with developing equipment which frictionally electrifies the toner, there is proposed a developing apparatus which directly imparts an electric charge to the toner. Examples of such a developing apparatus are disclosed in; e.g., the Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. Sho 63-138560, the Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. Sho 64-62675, Sho 54-17030, and Sho 62-291678, or illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15.
The developing apparatus disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. Sho 63-138560 has a developing powder carrier and a corona discharge unit positioned so as to be opposite to it. An electric charge is imparted to the toner by exposing a toner layer to ions having a desired polarity. The use of the corona discharge unit results in soiling of a corotron wire, which in turn causes an uneven electric discharge. Further, a high voltage is necessary to ionize an air layer in the vicinity of the corotron wire. In terms of the stability of an electric discharge in the axial direction, a voltage of more than 5 kV is necessary. A large amount of ozone is produced at the time of an electric discharge.
In contrast, a developing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 14 is comprised of a developing powder carrier 202; a toner layer forming blade 203 which is pressed against the developing powder carrier to form a toner layer; a cylindrical electrifying member 204 which is supported while remaining in contact with or being spaced a very small distance away from the developing powder carrier 202; a toner supply member 205 which supplies toner to the developing powder carrier; a developing bias power source 206; and a toner electrifying power source 207. An electric discharge is produced across the gap between the cylindrical electrifying member 204 and the developing powder carrier 202 by applying a voltage to the cylindrical electrifying member 204 from the toner electrifying power source 207. Ions or electrons resulting from the electric discharge are adhered to the toner, whereby the toner is electrified.
The developing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 15 has a developing powder carrier 212 and a layer forming blade 213 positioned so as to be pressed against it. A voltage for electrifying toner is applied to the layer forming blade 213 from a power source 217, whereby an electric discharge is produced across the gap between the layer forming blade 213 and the developing powder carrier 212. A toner layer is formed on the developing powder carrier 212, and the toner is electrified.
The developing apparatus as illustrated in either FIG. 14 or 15 does not need the high voltage required for the corona discharge unit and produces only a small amount of ozone.
In a conventional electrophotographic apparatus or an electrostatic recording apparatus, a corona discharge device is commonly used for electrifying a photosensitive material or an image carrier. This corona discharge device is classified into corotrons and scorotrons. FIG. 48 is a schematic representation showing a scorotron type corona discharge device. This corona discharge device is principally made up of a discharge wire 102q laid so as to be opposite to an article to be electrified, and a conductive shield 103q provided so as to surround the discharge wire 102q. The discharge wire 102q has a line size of about several tens micrometers, and a high voltage is applied to the article from the discharge wire 102q. Ions are produced in the vicinity of the discharge wire 102q as a result of corona discharge, and the article is electrified by the migration of the thus-produced ions. Such a corona discharge device is capable of imparting a sufficient amount of discharged electric charges to the article by means of a simple structure.
Devices for electrifying a photosensitive material are disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. Sho 50-843, Sho 50-13661, Sho 64-73367, Sho 58-150975, Hei 4-51266, and Hei 4-249270.
In the devices disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. Sho 50-843, Sho 50-13661, and Sho 64-73367, a roller which is a resistive material is brought into contact with a photosensitive material, and electric discharge is continually produced in a minute gap by applying a voltage between the roller and the photosensitive material, whereby the photosensitive material is electrified. In the devices disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. Sho 58-150975, Hei 4-51266, and Hei 4-249270, a high-resistance conductive film is brought into contact with a photosensitive material, and electric discharge is produced in a minute gap by applying a voltage between the photosensitive material and the film.
Devices for electrifying toner are disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. Sho 60-83972, Sho 54-17030, Sho 62-29-1678, and Sho 64-62675.
In the device disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Sho 60-83972, a plurality of electrodes are stacked on an insulating substrate in a side-by-side configuration, and they are positioned so as to be opposite to a developing roller having a thin layer of toner formed thereon. A discharge voltage is applied between the electrodes and the toner layer, thereby electrifying the toner provided on the developing roller.
In the devices disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. Sho 54-17030, Sho 62-291678, and Sho 64-62675, as shown in FIGS. 49A and 49B, a roller-shaped electrode 112q or a blade-shaped electrode 113q to which a voltage is applied is brought into contact with a toner layer formed on a developing roller 111q, and toner is electrified by electric discharge produced across a minute gap.
In general, in a photographic developing apparatus which employs one-component developing powder, toner is electrified by means of the friction between a developing roller and a toner layer regulating member pressed against the developing roller. It is difficult to impart sufficient electric charges to all toner particles by this method, and the toner of the opposite polarity is produced. To prevent the toner of the opposite polarity, there is proposed a technique of electrifying toner provided on the developing roller through use of the aforementioned electrifying device.
The toner of the opposite polarity is toner which is electrified with the polarity opposite to intended plurality. In a case where a latent image is developed by electrifying the toner with negative polarity, positively-electrified toner is the toner of the opposite polarity.
However, the developing equipment illustrated in either FIG. 14 or 15 has the following problem.
Specifically, if the voltage applied to the cylindrical electrifying member 204 is smaller than the discharge voltage, an electric charge is not sufficient because of the toner having high volume resistivity in the developing equipment illustrated in FIG. 14. Therefore, the toner cannot be electrified with the desired polarity. In contrast, toner can be electrified by means of electric discharge produced from electrodes by increasing the applied voltage. As shown in FIG. 16, electron avalanche occurs in the gap between the cylindrical electrifying member 204 and the developing powder carrier 202 as a result of ionization associated with electric discharge. Consequently, there are positive ions and electrons or negative ions which are opposite in polarity to each other in the discharge area. Similarly, electron avalanche occurs in the gap between the layer forming blade 213 and the developing powder carrier 212 in the developing equipment shown in FIG. 15, and there are eventually ions which are opposite in polarity to each other (see FIG. 17).
For these reasons, even if an attempt is made to adhere electrons or negative ions to toner in order to electrify the toner with a desired polarity (a negative polarity in this example), the discharge area is filled with positive ions and electrons or negative ions resulting from ionization. Therefore, both the positive ions and electrons or negative ions are imparted to the toner. As a result; the toner electrified as a result of electric discharge has a mixture of polarities; namely, particles of the opposite polarity are produced. The toner of the opposite polarity is thought to occur in the foregoing manner. The opposite polarity indicates a positive electric charge if the toner is desired to be electrified with a negative polarity as is in the present example. However, if the toner is electrified with a positive polarity, a negative polarity corresponds to the opposite polarity. A relative density between electrons and positive ions developing in the space between two parallel electrodes is calculated with reference to the paper entitled "Electric Discharge Phenomenon" (Tokyo Denki University Press., Atushi HONDA, pg. 64). As shown in FIG. 18, positive ions are also present in the vicinity of a positive electrode (i.e., the developing powder carrier), and the toner particle is several thousand times larger than an electron (i.e., the toner particle measures 7 to 10 .mu.m). In short, if an attempt is made to electrify toner with a negative polarity by electric discharge, a fair amount of positively charge toner is processed at the same time.
For example, as described in the article entitled "Recent Development and Actual Use of Electrophotographic Developing System and Toner" (Publishing Department of Nihon Kagaku Joho Co., Ltd., Manabu TAKEUCHI, pg. 303), the toner of the opposite polarity produced in the developing equipment is found to constitute 20% by weight by measuring the polarity of each of toner particles and the amount of electric charges in the form of profiles. If the toner particles of the opposite polarity are carried to the developing area as a result of the rotation of the developing powder carrier, picture degradation, such as background fog, arises in a developed toner image, resulting in a degraded image. Further, the toner of the opposite polarity on the developing powder carrier, splashes up and soils the inside of the developing equipment.
The present invention has been conceived in view of the foregoing problem, and the object of the present invention is to provide a photographic developing apparatus which produces an image with superior quality over a long period of time by preventing toner from being electrified with the opposite polarity and uniformly electrifying the toner on a developing powder carrier.
However, the previously-described photographic developing apparatus which directly imparts an electric charge to toner by applying a voltage to the toner present the following problems.
Specifically, if toner still remaining on a developing powder carrier is carried to the photographic developing apparatus after passage of a developing area, toner is additionally supplied to the residual toner, and an electric charge is again imparted to this toner by an electrifying device. As a result, an electric charge is imparted to the toner in small quantities as a result of electrification of the toner by the first rotation of a developing powder carrier, or in the first developing cycle. However, the amount of electric charges imparted to the toner shows a tendency to gradually increase in the next cycle and to become stable after passage of several cycles. The reason for this is that the toner still remaining on the developing powder carrier after completion of a developing operation is again carried to an electrifying area, thereby increasing the amount of electric charges of the toner. In contrast, toner newly applied to the developing powder carrier is not electrified in as large quantities as is the residual toner by one electrifying operation. Consequently, there arises a difference in the amount of electric charges among the toner particles.
As described above, the amount of electric charges imparted to the toner is instable. If the amount of electric charges changes from cycle to cycle, the quantity of toner to be transferred at the time of developing operation is also changed, thereby resulting in degradation of picture quality called ghosts.
Further, there is a case where an excessive electric current flows into the developing powder carrier as a result of local electric discharge developing between electrodes, toner is eventually electrified to such an extent that it would not contribute to the developing of an image. As a result, the quantity of toner to be transferred increases.
There is proposed a photographic developing apparatus as shown in, e.g., FIG. 28 or 29 as means for stabilizing the amount of electric charges imparted to developing powder.
As shown in FIG. 28, the photographic developing apparatus is comprised of a developing powder carrier 202p, a layer forming blade 203p which is pressed against the developing powder carrier 202p to thereby form a layer of toner; a cylindrical electric charge imparting member 204p which is supported so as to come into contact with the developing powder carrier 202p; a toner supply member 205p for feeding toner to the developing powder carrier 202p; a cylindrical conductive member 206p which is brought into pressed contact with the toner still remaining on the developing powder carrier after completion of the developing operation; a developing bias power source 207p; and a power source 208p for electrifying toner. The conductive member 206p is provided upstream from the toner supply member 205p in the direction of rotation of the developing powder carrier 202p and is electrically grounded.
In this photographic developing apparatus, electric discharge is caused across the gap between the electric charge imparting member 204p and the developing powder carrier 202p by applying a voltage to the electric charge imparting member 204p. Toner is electrified by applying ions or electrons caused by the electric discharge to the toner. An electrostatic latent image is developed through use of the toner, and the toner still remaining on the developing powder carrier after passage of the developing area is brought into contact with the conductive member 206p, thereby eliminating the electric charge of the toner. A photographic developing apparatus as described in, e.g., the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 4-268587 is analogous to the foregoing photographic developing apparatus.
A photographic developing apparatus shown in FIG. 29 is comprised of a layer forming blade 213p which is positioned so as to be pressed against a developing powder carrier 212p; a power source 218p for applying a voltage used for electrifying toner; and a conductive film member 216p to be pressed against the toner provided on the developing powder carrier. The photographic developing apparatus causes electric discharge across the gap between the layer forming blade 213p and the developing powder carrier 212p, thereby forming a layer of toner on the developing powder carrier 212p and electrifying the toner. The conductive film member 216p eliminates the electric charge of the residual toner after passage of a developing area.
A charge removing mechanism of the photographic developing apparatus shown in FIG. 28 or 29 is merely a grounded conductive member. As a result of the conductive member physically coming into contact with the toner, a small degree of distortion occurs in the formation of the toner layer. However, the effect of reducing the extent to which the toner is electrified can be hardly expected.
The present invention has been conceived in view of the foregoing drawbacks, and the object of the present invention is to provide a photographic developing apparatus which ensures superior picture quality without ghosts by stabilizing the amount of electric charges imparted to toner provided on a developing powder carrier in each developing cycle.
However, the previously-described conventional electrifying devices have the following drawbacks.
Specifically, in the device which produces corona discharge, electric discharge develops in other directions in addition to the direction in which there is an electrode loaded with an insulating material to be electrified, and the device must be provided with a conductive shield in order to stabilize electric discharge. If this shield moves too close to a discharge electrode (i.e., the discharge wire) in an ionization area, spark discharge will be produced. For this reason, the shield must be spaced a given distance or more away from the discharge electrode. Since the size of the shield cannot be reduced so much, it is difficult to make the electrifying apparatus compact.
In an electrifying device in which a voltage is applied to a roller-shaped or film-shaped electrode consisting of a resistor, the electrode loaded with an article to be electrified is moved close to a resistor, and electric discharge is produced by means of an electric field directed toward the electrode. As a result, the article is imparted with an electric charge. Therefore, the gap between the resistor and the electrode must be set to a very small distance in order to produce a discharge electric field. In many cases, they are in contact with each other. Foreign articles adhered to the discharge electrode cause disturbances in the electrifying characteristics of the electrifying device. In short, in a case where this electrifying device is used for electrifying a photosensitive material, the electrifying characteristics of the electrifying device become changed or uneven by adhesion of a toner-including substance or paper dust still remaining on a photosensitive material to the discharge electrode or by abrasion of the surface of the discharge electrode.
In contrast, the following problems are encountered in electrifying toner through use of an electrifying device in which a voltage is applied to a roller-shaped or blade-shaped blade consisting of a resistor.
As shown in FIGS. 50A and 50B, a resistor electrode to which a voltage is applied is brought into contact with a toner layer, and electric discharge is produced between an electrode and a developing roller or between the electrode and a member for carrying toner. Therefore, the toner is present in the electric discharge occurring between them, so that the toner particles are not uniformly electrified with desired polarity; namely, so-called the toner of the opposite polarity is produced.
The following phenomenon will be considered as a mechanism to produce the toner of the opposite polarity.
Electron avalanche occurs as a result of ionization associated with electric discharge, whereby electric charges of opposite polarities such as positive ions and electrons or negative ions are produced. As illustrated in FIGS. 50A and 50B, since the toner is in the discharge area, both the positive ions and electrons or negative ions contribute to imparting of electric charges to the toner, thereby resulting in the toner of the opposite polarity.
For example, a relative density between electrons and positive ions produced in the space between two parallel electrodes is calculated with reference to the paper entitled "Electric Discharge Phenomenon" (Tokyo Denki University Press., Atushi HONDA, pg. 64). As shown in FIGS. 51A and 51B, positive ions are also present in the vicinity of a positive electrode (i.e., a developing powder carrier), and a toner particle is several thousand times larger than an electron (i.e., the toner particle measures 7 to 10 .mu.m). Further, as a result of the polarity of and the amount of electric particles of each toner particle being measured in the form of profiles by the method described in the article entitled "Recent Development and Actual Use of Electrophotographic Developing System and Toner" (Publishing Department of Nihon Kagaku Joho Co., Ltd., Manabu TAKEUCHI, pg. 303), the toner of the opposite polarity constitutes 20% by weight.
The electrifying device disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. Sho 60-83972 also has similar problems.
The present invention has been conceived in view of the foregoing drawbacks, and the object of the invention is to provide an electrifying apparatus which prevents foreign articles from sticking to the electrifying apparatus by keeping the electrifying apparatus from contact with an article to be electrified, and which can be made compact.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact electrifying apparatus which prevents the generation of the toner of the opposite polarity by imparting an electric charge of single polarity to toner when it is used for electrifying the toner, and which can form an image with a stable picture quality over a long period of time in an image forming apparatus.
"The present invention has been conceived in view of the foregoing drawbacks in the prior art, and the object of the present invention is to provide a photographic developing apparatus which substantially uniformly electrifies toner provided on a developing powder carrier by preventing generation of toner of the opposite polarity, and which ensures superior picture quality over a long period of time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a photographic developing apparatus which ensures superior picture quality without ghosts by stabilizing the amount of electric charge of toner provided on a developing powder carrier every developing cycle. Further object of the present invention is to provide an electrifying apparatus which prevents attachment of foreign articles by keeping it out of contact with an article to be electrified and can be rendered compact.

Photographic developing apparatus and electrifying apparatus


Methods and compositions for dehydrating, passivating and coating HVAC and refrigeration systems having fluid enclosures are provided. The methods include adding a composition including organometalloid and/or organometallic compounds to the system, allowing the compositions to react with water in the system and sealing the system. The organometallic compounds include at least one alkoxy, carboxy and/or enoxy functional group bound to the metal element within the compound. The organometalloid compounds include at least one enoxy functional group bound to the metalloid element within the compound. Compositions for sealing such systems are also provided. The sealing compositions also include one or more organometallic compounds having at least one enoxy, carboxy and/or alkoxy group and/or organometalloid compounds which include at least three hydrolyzable groups, at least one of which is an enoxy group. When added to the system the sealing compositions exit an opening, react with atmospheric moisture and an external surface of the system and seal the opening.

Recently, severe restrictions have been placed on the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) due to association of CFCs with the destruction of stratospheric ozone. In addition, CFCs have been labeled as environmentally unsafe in many countries worldwide. As a result, proposed alternative substances which can be substituted for CFCs in various CFC applications have been and are being developed. Among them are several new proposed hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) such as the leading proposed substitute, HFC-134a and related compounds. These materials are already being sold as substitutes for CFC as refrigeration fluids. These replacement materials, while not ozone-depleting, contribute to the greenhouse effect. As a result, their use and escape into the atmosphere is the subject of the EPA's Significant New Alternatives Program, which limits the use of fluorinated compounds as alternatives for ozone-depleting chemicals. A. Lucas, "Report Airs Concerns About Fluorinated Compounds," Chemical Week, Feb. 8, 1995, p. 12.
The HFC replacement fluids are generally not as efficient as CFCs and require new types of lubricants for effective operation, thereby necessitating the redesigning of compressive-evaporative refrigeration and other systems using the HFCs. These new lubricants are sensitive to hydration, resulting in a tendency to absorb moisture from the air and moisture which has entered a charged refrigeration or other system through openings in the system such as from cracks and leaks. If water enters a refrigeration system having an HFC fluid, the water will degrade the lubricant promoting mechanical failure.
The newer working fluid refrigerants exhibit different solubilities than the CFCs, and are not miscible with well known lubricants in CFC systems such as conventional naphthenic mineral oil. Therefore, the new lubricants, including polyalkylene glycols (PAGs) and polyol esters (POES), have been developed. These lubricants are designed for the ozone-safe HFC-134a and related refrigerants.
Water in a system using these lubricants causes hydrolysis of the lubricating esters in a chemical reversion process. Esters undergoing acid-induced hydrolysis revert to their components with formation of alcohols and carboxylic acids. The lubricating properties of the esters degrade rapidly. With the resultant loss of lubrication, the compressive units experience excessive wear, and ultimately, catastrophic failure as the moving parts seize. B. D. Greig, "Formulated Polyol Ester Lubricants For Use With HFC 134a," Proceedings of the International CFC and Halon Alternatives Conference, (September, 1992), pp. 135-145. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,044, Hagihara et al. disclose that water severely affects performance of polyether based lubricants. These materials are hygroscopic and may contain up to 1500 ppm water. The moisture degrades their thermal stability in the presence of HFC-134a and causes organic materials such as PET films to be hydrolyzed.
The presence of water in refrigeration and other cooling, heating and ventilation systems has long been recognized as a problem and as having severe deleterious effects on such systems. The ubiquitous presence of moisture in the environment makes it extremely difficult to remove or eliminate moisture from such systems. Water is adsorbed on the surfaces of parts during manufacture and assembly including components such as evaporators, condensers and connecting tubing. It is present in refrigerants and other additives in varying amounts, is contained in lubricants and is introduced during charging or refilling of the systems. Water may also enter such systems through leaks around fittings and connectors, through hoses and cracks in metal that occur during operation and through improperly made connections.
These leaks also allow refrigerants or other working fluids to escape into the atmosphere, contaminating the environment and decreasing the efficiency and cooling capacity of the unit. If large amounts of cooling working fluids such as refrigerants escape, the system may overheat and the service life of the unit will thereby be shortened. Further, the unit may suffer mechanical failure from the loss of the working fluid. In general, leaks in heating and cooling systems also decrease the heat transfer efficiency of these systems.
Water in all types of compressive-evaporative systems decreases the system efficiency as a result of water's high heat of vaporization and high heat capacity. The high heat of fusion of water decreases the efficiency of a compressive-evaporative system by giving off heat in evaporation cycles as the water freezes. The resulting ice crystals can also block orifices in expansion valves and cause such systems to malfunction.
Water present in systems having metal, metal oxide or metal hydroxide surfaces also promotes surface oxidation. Such oxidation occurs within a compressive-evaporative system within the condenser, evaporator and connected metal tubing. These metal surfaces are coated with oxides and hydroxides of the composite metal due to the presence of water. The thickness of such a coating is dependent on the age and service life of the unit. The coatings are formed by oxidation of the metal caused by oxygen in the system as well as moisture which may also be present in the system. Formation is accelerated by the presence of acids. Even newly fabricated metal surfaces react with oxygen present in the atmosphere before unit assembly to form thin oxide layers on the metal surfaces. These thin oxide layers are termed "native" oxide layers. Air forms an oxide film 50 .ANG. thick on aluminum which increases with the presence of water. Metals Handbook, Desk Edition, American Society for Metals (1991), p. 6.64.
All oxidated surfaces have high degrees of polarity, and, consequently have high surface energies. These high surface energies readily attract moisture and hold it through electrostatic interactions such as hydrogen bonding. This molecular water layer can exist to varying degrees even before assembly of refrigeration systems. During operation, more water may bond to the metal oxide surfaces.
Lubricating oil may also occlude these high energy surfaces through electrostatic interactions. The oil forms a film of lubricating oil on the surfaces which acts as an insulator, hindering efficient heat transfer. Lubricating oil also accumulates in low areas of a refrigeration system, decreasing the lubricant available to the compressor. Accumulated oil may cover accumulated water that has collected in poor return areas of a refrigeration or other system due to the lower specific gravity of the oil. The combined layers of oxide, water and oil decrease energy transfer and reduce operating efficiency. These oxide layers continue to increase in thickness as long as water is present, and as a result, they continue to decrease the unit efficiency. This phenomenon has been reported recently by Komatsuzaki and Izuka, "Ester Oils As Lubricant For HFC-134a Refrigerator In Domestic Appliance," Proceedings of the International CFC and Halon Alternatives Conference, (September, 1992), Washington, D.C., p. 189.
The use of CFCs and HCFCs, while their use is now restricted, has been noted to reduce wear on compressors. This has been related to the chlorine content of these working fluids. The working fluids decompose to form active chlorine compounds which react with metal surfaces within the systems to form protective metal chloride boundary layers. These layers have a positive anti-wear affect. K. E. Davis and J. N. Vinci, "Effect of Additives In Synthetic Ester Lubricants Used With HFC-134a Refrigerant," Proceedings of the International CFC and Halon Alternatives Conference, (September, 1992), Washington, D.C., p. 125. The active chlorine compounds produced can also combine with water present in the system to produce strong acids. These acids can be transported to evaporators and condensers where they corrosively attack metals and have the potential to cause leakage to the environment.
Copper plating, which produces wear, occurs in CFC, HCFC and HFC systems and is also related to the presence of water in the system. This phenomenon would be aggravated by polyol ester lubricants which can absorb up to 1500 ppm water from the atmosphere.
One current method for the removal of moisture from refrigeration and other systems includes providing a dryer unit to the system. The dryer units in refrigeration systems are typically positioned in the liquid, high-pressure refrigerant area at the outlet of the condenser units. These dryer-strainer units contain desiccants such as silica gel which attract water molecules to their surfaces. The water is held to a desiccant's surface by hydrogen bonding of the polar water molecules to the polar desiccant surface. This is an equilibrium phenomenon in which water molecules can be transferred back to the refrigerant. The desiccants employed have a high capacity for water entrapment, but a low affinity for the actual water molecules as indicated by their failure to completely remove water from the system and their slow action in achieving the absorption.
Alternatives to silica gel desiccants include zeolite systems in which water molecules are entrapped within pores in a zeolite. Zeolite systems are more efficient than silica gel desiccants in removing water. However, zeolites have a higher affinity for water, a low capacity for water entrapment, and are even slower to dehydrate than silica gel desiccants.
In refrigeration or other systems using dryers, as described above, water remains in the system in some form, for example, adsorbed on the desiccant surface, trapped within zeolites, or circulating within the system itself. It is not transformed to another species. Early attempts to chemically remove water are reported in U.S. Pat. No. 2,185,332 of Crampton.
Crampton describes adding sodium alkoxides to refrigeration systems which react with water to produce alcohol and sodium hydroxide, a very strong inorganic base that is insoluble in all compressive refrigeration system fluid components. The reaction products are extremely corrosive and would be expected to chemically react with system refrigerants causing their chemical breakdown or with metal surfaces within the system causing component deterioration. The acid neutralizing properties claimed by Crampton would produce sodium chloride, another insoluble product. Formation of such insoluble particles has a detrimental effect on operating refrigeration systems by rapidly increasing wear of moving mechanical parts and by blocking orifices required for efficient operation. Sodium alkoxides are very strong organic bases and would be expected to react with refrigerants and other halogen-containing working fluids by hydrogen-halogen extraction causing working fluid decomposition.
More recent attempts to remove moisture and seal systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,304,805, 4,331,722, 4,379,067, 4,442,015 and 4,508,631 of Packo et al. which teaches the use of silicon-containing compounds including certain mercaptosilanes, acyloxysilanes, aminosilanes, and alkoxysilanes in conjunction with acetic anhydride or aminosilanes.
The organotrialkoxysilane compositions of Packo et al. produce insoluble organosilsesquioxanes on reaction with water. Introduction of nitrogen-containing species, such as the aminosilanes, produces insoluble ammonium or amine salts in the presence of system acids, and generates toxic ammonia within the system. Ammonia and amines in systems employing fluorocarbon-based working fluids may promote undesirable chemical reactions leading to working fluid decomposition. Furthermore, the presence of salts within a system employing electrical connections is precluded for safety reasons. Incorporation of amines or ammonia-generating compounds renders indicating devices on cooling and refrigeration systems (such as "Dry Eye") inoperable by indicating a safe condition when one actually does not exist. Some moisture indicators turn blue in the presence of bases such as ammonia. This interaction provides a false reading as water may be present in the system even though the indicator exhibits a blue color. Ammonia or amines can also produce stress corrosion cracking of copper or brass, a substantial component of some refrigeration systems which use CFC, HCFC and HFC working fluids. Metals Handbook, Desk Edition, American Society for Metals (1991), p. 7.37.
Sydney has reported that lubrication is extremely important in all compressive-evaporative refrigeration systems. D. Sydney, "Why Compressors Fail Mechanically," Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News, .sctn..sctn.1-6 (1991). Fluorocarbon systems pump a finite amount of lubricant with the refrigerant working fluids. The refrigerant flowing back to the compressor is intended to carry that oil back to the compressor. Compressive-evaporative fluorocarbon refrigeration systems are designed and installed to perform this function by maintaining a low pressure drop to ensure proper oil return. Oil collecting in evaporators and coating the tubes causes a drop in evaporative pressure and insufficient oil return. The lack of oil returning to the compressor causes improper lubrication. Poor lubrication results in oil and compressor overheating as well as excessive wear. High oil retention in the evaporators and condensers leads to compressor failure from the excessive wear and overheating or to motor burnout.
The thermal stability of dehydrating compositions is important in compressive-evaporative refrigeration and other heating and cooling systems due to the harsh and extreme conditions of those systems. Operating systems employing compression-evaporation cycles have pressure and temperature extremes that may promote component degradation. A typical HCFC-22 system will have pressures of about 200 to 300 psi and temperatures of about 200.degree. to about 225.degree. F. Temperatures within compressors can typically approach 275.degree. F. Units not operating properly, for example those having restricted valves or insufficient working fluid or lubricant return, may exceed operating temperatures of 300.degree. F. If temperatures of about 350.degree. F. occur in compressors, such conditions may cause lubricants to "coke," i.e., to turn to carbon, such that valves may become carbon-coated and particles may be generated which tend to clog the strainer/dryer resulting in reduced working fluid flow. Decomposition of the refrigerant or other working fluid at these operating temperatures produces the elemental components of the working fluid including halogens such as chlorine and acids such as hydrochloric acid. A need exists, therefore for a dehydration composition which is able to maintain its integrity and reactivity without degradation or functional change under these harsh operating conditions.
New regulations eliminating manufacture of CFC-12 and HCFC-22 in the year 2002 based on the ability of these refrigerant working fluids to deplete ozone make it imperative that these materials not be released from systems employing them. In addition, the new alternatives such as HFC-134a or HFC-152a should not be released due to their nature as greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. The containment of these gases within operating units will exhibit beneficial effects to the environment and reduce costs related to securing these materials and converting to further alternative working fluids. The containment of these materials can best be addressed by the environmental isolation of the system using them. A need in the art exists for a method for isolating these systems which takes account of the working fluids, lubricants and methods of operation of the current systems.
In sum, a need in the art exists for a method for sealing leaks in refrigeration, air conditioning, heating, ventilation and related systems and for the complete dehydration of the systems. Complete dehydration is desirable for ensuring proper operation without formation of insoluble particles, gels or varnishes that result from reaction of sealants and/or other additives with contained system moisture.

Compositions and methods for dehydrating, passivating and sealing systems


Three-dimensional (3D) NAND memory devices and methods are provided. In one aspect, a fabrication method includes depositing a cover layer over a substrate, depositing a layer stack over the cover layer, performing a first epitaxial growth to deposit a first epitaxial layer on a side portion of a channel layer that extends through the layer stack, removing the cover layer to expose a portion of the substrate, performing a second epitaxial growth to deposit a second epitaxial layer on the portion of the substrate, and performing a third epitaxial growth to deposit a third epitaxial layer on the second epitaxial layer. The second and third epitaxial layers are configured to provide separate electrical current paths for an erase operation and a read operation.

NAND is a non-volatile type of memory that does not require power to retain stored data. The growing demands of consumer electronics, cloud computing, and big data bring about a constant need of NAND memories of larger capacity and better performance. As conventional two-dimensional (2D) NAND memory approaches its physical limits, three-dimensional (3D) NAND memory is now playing an important role. 3D NAND memory uses multiple stack layers in a single chip to achieve higher density, higher capacity, faster performance, lower power consumption, and better cost efficiency.
In a 3D NAND memory device, NAND memory cells belonging to a block are electrically connected to a common p-doped silicon well (p-well). When the NAND memory cells are reset in a block erase operation, the p-well is positively biased against word lines of the NAND memory cells. Such a p-well structure provides an electrical current path not only for the block erase operation, but also for the read operation. However, during the read operation, the p-well is negatively biased against a selected word line. The reverse bias often causes design difficulty for the bottom selective gate (BSG). The disclosed methods and systems are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.

Three-dimensional memory device and fabrication method thereof


A mobile terminal including a flexible display unit and a related control method are provided. The mobile terminal may include a flexible display unit configured to display first screen information that is flexible in response to an external physical force, a sensing unit configured to sense flexure of the flexible display unit and a controller configured to control the flexible display unit to output second screen information containing information associated with the first screen information on one region of the flexible display unit in response to the flexure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a mobile terminal including a flexible display unit and a control method thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Terminals can be classified into a mobile terminal and a stationary terminal based on its mobility. Furthermore, the mobile terminal can be further classified into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal based on whether the terminal can be directly carried by a user.
Multifunctional terminals may capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and perform similar functions, so as to be implemented as an integrated multimedia player. Moreover, improvements of terminals may take into consideration the structure or software to support and enhance the function of the terminals.
In general, terminals have evolved into various types of designs, and accordingly, flexible displays are widely used due to their light and unbreakable characteristics. The flexible displays may create a new user interface area for which their application has been restricted or unattained with existing glass substrate based displays. Furthermore, as the flexible displays are widely used, it may be also required to provide a user friendly user interface based on the characteristics of the flexible displays.

Mobile terminal having flexible display and control method for the mobile terminal


A window assembly and method for its installation is provided. The window assembly may include multiple transparent panels covering an opening of an aircraft fuselage. One or more retainer members and a flexible clip member may be utilized to secure the window assembly over the opening of the fuselage.

Most current passenger aircraft window systems comprise multiple panes of acrylic that are coupled together in a multi-piece sheet metal attachment structure. Typically, this structure is installed from the interior of the aircraft and is not maintenance friendly since the passenger seats and aircraft interior wall fascia panels must be removed for access to the window system. Often, the window systems require a deep envelope in the fuselage to accommodate the bulky sheet metal structure holding the multi-pane window.
Many next generation aircraft incorporate transparent structural panels fastened around apertures in the fuselage skin to allow occupants of the aircraft to look through the transparent panels. The panels are typically attached directly to the inside of the fuselage skin. These panels often require external fairing panes to fill in the gap between the inside surface of the skin and the outside surface of the skin in order to provide an aerodynamically smooth surface on the outside surface of the fuselage. The external fairing panes may provide for noise abatement, a thermal barrier, and an abrasion resistant barrier for the internally mounted transparent panel.
The fairing pane attachment system for these next generation aircraft typically must fit inside an envelope equal to the thickness of the fuselage skin, and be capable of allowing installation of the fairing pane from the outside surface of the aircraft fuselage for quick replacement and easy maintenance. Conventional solutions for attaching the outer protective fairing pane have typically been to utilize a picture frame to encase the fairing pane, and fasteners for attachment to the aircraft structure. However, utilizing a picture frame, which generally comprises a raised step around the fairing pane aperture, may not supply a smooth aerodynamic surface on the exterior surface of the fuselage, and may induce drag and reduce performance. Moreover, attachment of fasteners is usually required. Installation of fasteners may be time consuming, may require torque specifications for proper attachment, and may require a maintenance person to remove gloves in order to perform necessary maintenance. Additionally, fasteners may be dropped during maintenance and may cause foreign object damage (FOD) to aircraft systems.
A window assembly and method for its installation is required which will allow for efficient installation of fairing panes from the outside of the aircraft fuselage in a space-challenged envelope. This window assembly may also be utilized in non-aircraft applications.


Composite biometric authentication is provided to multiple users that share a financial account. The users can enroll the account for composite biometric authentication. The enrollment can include recording multiple biometrics of each user and storing them as a composite to use in authenticating user requests to authorize transactions involving the shared financial account. A unique combination of biometrics can be generated including a biometric of the multiple biometrics of each of the users and stored such that the unique combination must be provided to authenticate a future user request. To proceed with a transaction, a user of the multiple users initiates the transaction and provides their part of the unique combination. The other users provide their part of the unique combination by providing the specific biometric of the multiple biometrics they have previously provided. The transaction proceeds when all shares of the unique combination are provided and authenticated.

In the banking industry, conventional authentication methods are somewhat limited given the complexity and variability of banking needs of various customers. For example, in the case of joint account holders where the account holders are not co-located and the one holder requires his or her authentication to transact an account, the options are limited unless the first holder physically travels to where the bank account is being held or provides paperwork such as a power of authorization/attorney. Such agreements may be problematic or suboptimal for the second user without a check on the first user's access to the account.
Other problems that arise with the conventional authentication systems are over simplicity, which exposes various customers to heightened risks. For example, to transact at a bank, some customers are required to enter a personal identification number (PIN). PINs are susceptible as they are often easily guessable such as either a birthday or anniversary. Solutions such as one time passcodes (OTP) have been implemented. However, they are limited because mobile phones may be compromised, lost, or otherwise unsecured.
Moreover, conventional authentication methods are either predicable or singular in nature in that only one level of authentication and/or authorization is required. For example, the simple entry of a password often enables access to a customer's bank account information. In some cases, an additional OTP is sent for an extra level of verification. However, the simple login is often inadequate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A valve includes a flow chamber, an actuating chamber, and an opening. An actuating element can close or open the valve opening. An SMA element can move the actuating element in the opening direction. The flow chamber and the actuating chamber are separated by a separating wall. A first area of the flow chamber is attachable to an air supply unit to supply air to the flow chamber. A second area of the flow chamber is attachable to a media reservoir and is connectable to atmosphere to release air from the flow chamber via an opening. An actuator is pivotable on the valve housing via a second end section, and has a first end section coupled adjacent a first end of the actuating element so that the opening to the atmosphere is either released or closed.

The movement of an actuating element between an opening and closing position can take place with the help of shape memory alloys (SMAs) in form of wires, for example. These are alloys that can exist in two different crystalline structures depending on their temperature. At room temperature, there is a martensitic structure with a tetragonal, space-centered lattice, which starting at a transformation temperature of approx. 100° C., undergoes a transformation to become an austenitic structure with a cubic face-centered lattice. Therefore, a wire having such a shape memory alloy is capable of shortening due to the lattice transformation from a martensitic to an austenitic structure when heated above the transformation temperature. In order to heat the SMA element, current is usually applied to it and as a result this, it can move the actuating element.
A valve with a valve housing enclosing a pressure chamber is known, for example, from DE 10 2005 060 217, whereby a tappet for opening and closing a valve opening is arranged inside the pressure chamber. Here, to move the valve opening, the tappet is moved by an SMA element electrically connected to a printed circuit board arranged inside the valve housing so current can be applied to it. Since the SMA element is arranged inside the pressure chamber, it is directly exposed to the volume flow of the valve, i.e. to the air flowing in or out of the pressure chamber through the valve openings. In this case, the SMA element extends on both sides of the tappet, so that it is V-shaped.
Such a valve or valve arrangement can be used to fill media reservoirs, e.g. fluid bubbles, particularly air bubbles or air cushions, in the field of automobile seats. The known valves with only one actuator can be used either to fill or empty the bubble. Individually, they are not suitable for maintaining a pressure in the bubble. To do this, a two valve combination with the known valves is necessary. In addition, the known valves have a large size.


A motion compensation device, suitable for an optical system such as a camera, has a blurring motion compensation unit to compensate for blurring motion by driving an image blurring motion compensation optical system in a direction generally perpendicular to the optical axis. The device can lock the image blurring motion compensation optical system by a locking member even if there is no power supply. This is accomplished by using a magnet which attracts an iron piece mounted on a blurring motion compensation lens frame, and lock members which lock the blurring motion compensation lens frame. When an operation mode changeover switch changes over from the ON position to the OFF position, a contact unit of this operation mode changeover switch locks a coupling member of a lock ring. Accordingly, because the magnet attracts the iron piece even when there is no power supply, the blurring motion compensation lens frame can be locked by the lock ring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motion compensation device and method which compensates for hand tremor motions and other sources of image blurring motion and vibration in a camera and related optical systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical systems project an image onto an image plane. Conventional image blur suppression device suppress, or reduce, blurring of the image. A motion compensation device is a type of image blur suppression device, and compensates for motion incident upon the optical system. Motion is typically imparted to the optical system by vibrations in the optical system, or in a surrounding holding member. In general, conventional motion compensation devices cause a compensation lens to shift counter to the motion of the optical system so as to shift the image projected by the optical system relative to the optical system. Conventional cameras use a motion compensation device to suppress image blur resulting from motion of the camera. Such motion is typically caused by hand tremors of the photographer.
A motion compensation device in the prior art has a structure as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication JP-6-67274. In JP-6-67274, a motion compensation device is disclosed which is equipped with a blurring motion compensation lens, and a blurring motion compensation lens frame which supports the blurring motion compensation lens. A blurring motion compensation lens drive mechanism is used to drive this blurring motion compensation lens frame. A convex locking member fits into a concave surface formed in this blurring motion compensation lens frame and locks the blurring motion compensation lens frame. Driving the locking member is a locking member drive mechanism which engages or releases the locking member and the concave surface. This locking member drive mechanism is equipped with a slide which moves rectilinearly, a permanent magnet, a solenoid coil and an assembled plunger-type latch solenoid. This plunger-type latch solenoid, when properly electrified, cancels the magnetic field of the permanent magnet and operates to release the locking member from the concave surface. The plunger-type latch solenoid, when properly electrified, also can increase the magnetic force of the permanent magnet and operates to engage the locking member and the concave surface.
In the motion compensation device of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication JP-6-67274, when a discrimination unit determines that the blurring motion compensation lens is not locked, the blurring motion compensation lens frame is locked by an electrical locking device. When a defect occurs in the locking member drive mechanism, the electrical locking device locks the blurring motion compensation lens frame so that the optical axis of the whole photographic optical system and the optical axis of the blurring motion compensation lens coincide. In such a situation, it is possible to perform normal photography. Also using this method, damage to the blurring motion compensation lens due to vibration and failure of the blurring motion compensation lens drive mechanism are prevented.
The prior art motion compensation device, however, makes it necessary to engage or release the locking member from the concave surface by the electrically conducting state of the plunger-type solenoid. Moreover, the prior art motion compensation device makes it necessary to lock the blurring motion compensation lens frame by the electrical locking device when the blurring motion compensation lens frame could not be locked by a locking member drive mechanism. Accordingly, the prior art motion compensation device necessitates an electric power source in order to drive the locking member drive mechanism and to drive the electrical locking device. Generally, in a camera system comprising a lens body and a camera body in which the lens body is interchangeable, a motion compensation device on the lens barrel itself has a power supply disposed in the camera body. Since the power supply, normally a battery, is not contained in the lens barrel where the blurring motion compensation lens frame is located, when the power supply battery of the camera body is removed or the lens barrel is removed from the camera body, the problem arises of not being able to lock the blurring motion compensation lens frame using the locking member drive mechanism or the electrical locking mechanism.

Motion compensation device for an optical system and method


A tube mounting assembly for connecting a suction line tube and a liquid line tube to a housing, such as a compressor or evaporator, primarily consists of a mounting block having a first passage extending inwardly from one side thereof and a second passage also extending inwardly from a second side of the mounting block for receiving the suction line and liquid line tubes, respectively. Each of the first and second passages has a pair of opposing slots positioned adjacent their respective edges for receiving an insert designed to secure the respective suction line and inlet line tubes with the passages. The insert has a first side which corresponds with the suction line tube and a second side which corresponds with the inlet line tube and a pair of winged tabs for insertion into the opposing slots located adjacent the edge of the mounting block in the passage. The winged tabs of the inserts are designed to be press fit in the slots. The insert is designed such that the same insert can be used to retain either the suction line tube or the liquid line tube within the mounting block. In an alternative embodiment, the insert and tube have complimentary shaped portions to prevent rotation of the tube within the mounting assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for connecting a tube to a port in a housing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a connecting block for connecting a conduit tube of an air-conditioning circuit to a port associated with an accessory, such as an expansion unit or compressor of a refrigerant circuit of the type typically used in automotive vehicle air-conditioning systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior to the present invention, multiple types of tube mounting assemblies have been proposed for connecting a refrigerant line to a device of an air-conditioning circuit, such as a compressor, expansion unit or other known device.
It is known in the art to connect refrigerant hoses to the discharge port or the inlet port of a refrigerant compressor evaporator or other device within an air-conditioning circuit using a tube fitting having one end thereof fixed to the flexible hose and its other end connected to the compressor. Such a tube fitting connection is typically made either by means of a male-female threaded tube coupling or it may be fixed, as by brazing, to a compressor connector block which would also have a short pilot tube fixed therein.
Additionally, it is also known that the tube can be adapted to enter a correspondingly sized hole or port in a connector block which is then fixed by a connecting means such as a threaded bolt or spanner clamp to the port in the compressor. However, this type of connection has its drawbacks with respect to the proper departure orientation of the tube fitting relative to the compressor, the limited availability of space in the engine compartment of the automotive vehicle and the significant weight associated with such devices. These types of tube fitting connections have drawbacks in that they have a significant number of potential leakage paths for the escape of the refrigerant fluid. Finally, with these prior art tube fitting connections a significant amount of machining is required to fabricate the male-female threaded tube coupling or to fabricate the compressor connector block and its associated components.
Accordingly, different types of solutions to the problems associated with the prior art devices have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,152 to DeVincent et al discloses a tube mounting assembly for mounting a tube to a refrigerant compressor wherein the tube has an upset annular bead adjacent its free end which is sandwiched between the legs of a fold-over clamp against which an O-ring seal encircling the free end of the tube is seated to provide a seal. A pair of slotted tube mounting brackets are mounted in interlocking relationship with each other about each tube on the opposite sides of the fold-over clamp from the O-ring seal and then the entire assembly is secured to the housing of the compressor using a bolt.
Similar to the above patent is U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,356 to DeVincent et al. The '356 reference discloses that the upset annular bead on the end of the tube is received in a stepped bore opening of a connecting block and then a spring retainer clip is removably inserted in a transverse slot from a position out of interference engagement with the annular bead on the tube to a position in which it engages the opposite side of the bead. An O-ring is sandwiched between the upset annular bead and a step portion of the stepped bore opening of the passage in the connecting block in order to lock and effect sealing of the tube in the block. The '356 reference further discloses that the block may be sealed and attached to the housing of a compressor. Both of the above references disclose a means for connecting a tube to the housing of an air-conditioning compressor which requires a multitude of intricately formed parts which add significantly to the cost and weight of the overall design of the tube connecting assembly.
A further solution to a tube mounting assembly is U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,153 to DeVincent et al. The '153 patent proposes a tube mounting assembly in which the end of the tube having the annular upset bead adjacent the pilot end of the tube is sandwiched between a mounting plate, which is slotted at opposite ends to receive the tubes, and a centrally apertured yoke on each tube encircling the pilot end thereof, each yoke having spaced apart legs clamped around the side edges of the mounting plate. The '153 reference further discloses that each yoke is welded or brazed to the annular upset bead of the tube with which it is associated in order to effect a fluid-tight seal between the elements and to prevent axial or rotative movement of the yoke relative to the tube. Thus, the '153 reference requires the welding of parts and significantly more weight than is desirable for use in certain applications in order to achieve the mounting of the tubes to the housing of the compressor of the air conditioning system.
From the above, it is clear that there is a continuing need to provide a tube mounting assembly which is lighter, less costly, has the ability to allow for reorientation of the tubes or can prevent rotation of the tube during installation and is simple to install. This is especially true when one considers the changing environments in which air-conditioning systems are used in automotive vehicles. Continuously, space is becoming more and more limited for such parts and air-conditioning systems are being used in a variety of new and different ways. For example, more automotive vehicles are now employing a second evaporator in the rear of the vehicle in order to provide effective air-conditioning to the passengers located in the rear of the vehicle, such as in a minivan.
In order to provide such a device at an economical cost, it is necessary to extend the circuit of the standard air-conditioning system to include the additional evaporator located at the rear of the vehicle to accommodate the occupants in the rear of the vehicle. This means extending both the suction and liquid lines of the standard air-conditioning system to the evaporator located in the rear of the vehicle. On some vehicles lengths in excess of 9 to 10 feet of tubing may be required to reach the rear evaporator. Additionally, in order to conserve space and to meet applicable standards, it is necessary to have the suction and liquid lines conform to the underside of the vehicle, thereby requiring that the suction and liquid line tubes have intricate convoluted shapes.
During the course of shipping these parts it is desirable to keep each associated suction line and liquid line together to make it easy to ensure that the appropriate suction line tube and compatible liquid line tube is correctly installed in each vehicle. In the past, this has been done by initially putting the mounting block over the tubes and then while the tubes are inserted in the mounting block bending the tubes into their desired shape for mounting on the vehicle. However, with the tubes mounted in the mounting block it is difficult and time consuming to bend the tubes into their final form. Additionally, with mounting blocks of the prior art, the holes are drilled completely through the mounting block in order to retain the tube within the mounting block during shipping making it difficult to service an installed line.
In the instances in which the mounting block has a passage which extends from a side of the block for receiving the tube, the means for retaining the tube in the block are complicated, expensive, prone to leakage and do not have the ability to choose between allowing for rotational movement of the tubes or preventing rotational movement of the tube with respect to the block as desired. Thus, it is necessary to provide a means for retaining the tubes within the mounting block which does not significantly add to the cost or the weight of the mounting block and which accommodates for rotational displacement of the tubes with respect to the mounting block.
As discussed above, U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,153 to DeVincent et al discloses a tube mounting assembly having slotted holes in the mounting block for receiving the tubes therein and further discloses a U-shaped yoke used for retaining the tubes in the slotted passages of the mounting plate. However, the yoke of the '153 patent significantly adds to the weight and cost of the assembly due to its size and detailed configuration which requires additional costs, materials and assembly time. Thus, there is still a need for an improved tube mounting assembly which will allow for matching of the tubes, without first being mounted in the mounting plate; will receive the tubes after they have been bent and configured for a particular application; will function to associate a suction line tube with a liquid line tube during shipping and packaging; which has significantly less weight and is less costly and will allow for, when necessary or desirable, reorientation of the tubes during installation in order to account for variances in the orientation of the mounting assembly over the significant lengths required in vehicle installations.


Different subnets are allocated to respective wireless LAN terminals. It is assumed that when the setting of IP addresses is completed, a packet is to be sent from wireless LAN terminal 1 to wireless LAN terminal 2. Since the different subnets are allocated to respective wireless LAN terminals 1, 2, wireless LAN terminals 1, 2 are unable to communicate directly with each other. Wireless LAN terminal 1 sends a packet destined for wireless LAN terminal 2 to a default gateway (=access limiter). Since the packet received by the access limiter is destined for wireless LAN terminal 2, the access limiter transfers the packet to wireless LAN terminal 2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of limiting communication access between wireless LAN terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some conventional inter-LAN repeaters for use in wireless LAN access point installations for regenerating signals between wired LANs and wireless LANs are capable of dispensing with unwanted repeating operation for unstudied stations in the wireless LANs thereby to greatly reduce the load on transmission paths in the wireless LANs which have a low transmission rate (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).
There is known a wireless LAN system in which an access point as a control terminal device receives a frame destined outside a cell and makes a response representative of a reception success or a reception failure for efficient communications with a wireless terminal device in another cell or a wired terminal device connected to a wired transmission path (see, for example, Patent Document 2 below).
According to another known wireless LAN system, a control device stores connection permitting conditions for mobile stations (wireless LAN terminals) in respective access points, determines whether a connection request from a mobile station matches any of the stored connection permitting conditions, and allows the mobile station to be connected only if the connection request matches a stored connection permitting condition (see, for example, Patent Document 3 below).
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a sequence of operation of a conventional wireless LAN that is made up of only existing devices. Address information allocated to terminals in the conventional wireless LAN shown in FIG. 1 is as follows:
Wireless LAN terminal 1:                IP address=192.168.1.1        Subnet mask=255.255.255.0        Subnet=192.168.1        Default gateway=192.168.1.254 (=access limiter);
Wireless LAN terminal 2:                IP address=192.168.1.2        Subnet mask=255.255.255.0        Subnet=192.168.1        Default gateway=192.168.1.254 (=access limiter);
Wired terminal:                IP address=192.168.0.1        Subnet mask=255.255.255.0        Subnet=192.168.0        Default gateway=192.168.1.254 (access limiter).
In FIG. 1, the wireless LAN terminals have identical subnets. In reply to an ARP request that flows from wireless LAN terminal 1 (604) to wireless LAN terminal 2 (605) prior to packet transmission, wireless LAN terminal 2 (605) directly returns a response. Therefore, data are returned from a wireless LAN access point, and communications are made without through access limiter 602.
According to conventional communications between wireless LAN terminals, because
(1) identical subnets are allocated to wireless LAN terminals, and
(2) packets designed for the identical subnets are sent not through a default gateway, data flow from wireless LAN terminal 1 to the access point to wireless LAN terminal 2, and hence an access limiting function cannot be provided unless the access point is modified.
Patent Document 1: Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 8-274804;
Patent Document 2: Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 10-164073; and
Patent Document 3: Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 11-55286.
The above conventional systems suffer from a problem as to how communications between wireless LAN terminals are to be seized with respect to band limitation and charging for pay services such as hot spots or the like.
Pay services such as hot spots or the like, which should be provided inexpensively unlike cellular phone services, do not have a lot of money to spend for constructing a network of their own. It is considered customary for those services to employ wireless LAN access points that can be purchased ordinarily, e.g., access points that are commercially available for about 30,000 yen, rather than customized access points. If hot spot services are to begin at locations where such inexpensive access points have already been installed (they cannot easily be removed as they are generally incorporated in buildings), it is the normal practice to use the existing equipment. However, since an inexpensive access point is not expected to be used by hot spot services, data sent from a wireless LAN terminal to another wireless LAN terminal are returned from the access point.
When communications such as ftp communications are performed between wireless LAN terminals that are not designed for use with hot spot services, the entire wireless band is consumed, causing trouble to the hot spot services. Basically, hot spot services need to limit communications between wireless LAN terminals.
Attention is being paid to hot spot services using wireless LANs. If an existing wireless LAN access point is employed, then since the access point returns data, data communications started between wireless terminals tend to occupy 100% of the wireless band in an area which cannot be controlled by the service provider, resulting in the danger of a failure to provide the services.
Consequently, it is necessary to solve the problem as to what should be done to prevent packets transmitted between wireless LAN terminals from being returned from an access point.

Method of limiting communication access between wireless LAN terminals


A liquid crystal composition includes at least one liquid crystal molecule represented by Chemical Formulas 1-1 to 1-6, and at least one liquid crystal molecule represented by Chemical Formulas 2-1 to 2-6.

(a) Field
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal composition, a liquid crystal display including the same and a method of manufacturing thereof
(b) Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display ("LCD") is one of the most widely used flat panel displays at present, and includes two display panels facing each other, a liquid crystal layer interposed between two display panels, an field generating electrode such as a pixel electrode and a common electrode positioned on at least one of two display panels, and the like.
In the liquid crystal display, an electric field is generated in a liquid crystal layer by applying a voltage to the field generating electrode, such that alignment of liquid crystal molecules positioned in the liquid crystal layer may be determined and transmittance of light transmitting the liquid crystal layer may be adjusted.
The liquid crystal composition employed in the liquid crystal display significantly affects the ability to adjust the transmittance of light in order to obtain a desired image. More particularly, there has been an increased demand for a liquid crystal display which exhibits various characteristics such as low voltage driving, high voltage holding ratio ("VHR"), wide viewing angle characteristic, wide operation temperature range, high speed response, high transmittance, and the like.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Liquid crystal composition, liquid crystal display including the same and method of manufacturing thereof


Disclosed herein are embodiments for providing finite state machine driven workflows. In an embodiment, a workflow template is defined for a type of task. The workflow template may represent a finite state machine. The workflow template may be linked to an external party and an asset type, which may be stored in a workflow database. An asset may be received from the external party including an external party attribute identifying the external party, an asset type attribute, and an owner attribute. The owner attribute may be associated with an application end user. A determination may be made whether the external party attribute and the asset type attribute of the asset match the external party and the asset type linked to the workflow template. If a match is determined, instances of the task and the one or more actions of the workflow template may be created.

Numerous platforms act as an intermediary between users and external third parties, for example providing electronic services to users on behalf of a third party organization. Most third parties offer different services having unique needs and workflows, and adapting the platform to integrate the needs of the third party has traditionally been time-consuming and resource intensive. This process typically involves customizing, by the platform developer, application logic and user workflows specific to a particular third party, requiring significant development time that could otherwise be spent on other work. Time and development resources are again required any time a workflow needs to be updated. Additionally, this development often requires customizing the third party's external systems to integrate with the platform, which is typically performed by the platform developer due to integration complexities. Solutions are needed to reduce the time and resources required to integrate third party services and workflows with an intermediary platform.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.


The present invention concerns a method and apparatus of decoding a one-point algebraic geometric code defined on an algebraic curve represented by an equation in X and Z of degree 2μφ in Z, where φ is a strictly positive integer and μ an integer greater than 1, obtained by taking the fiber product of μ component algebraic equations, each of said component equations governing the unknown X and an unknown Yi, where i=0, . . . , μ−1, and being of degree 2φ in Yi. This method comprises the decoding of 2(μ−1)φ “clustered” codes, all defined on the same algebraic curve represented by one of said component equations.

It will be recalled that channel "block encoding" consists, when the "codewords" sent to a receiver or recorded on a data carrier are formed, of introducing a certain level of redundancy in the data. More particularly, by means of each codeword, the information is transmitted that is initially contained in a predetermined number k of symbols taken from an "alphabet" of finite size q; on the basis of these k information symbols, calculation is made of a number n>k of symbols belonging to that alphabet, which constitute the components of the codewords: v=(v1,v2, . . . , vn). The set of codewords obtained when each information symbol takes some value in the alphabet constitutes a sort of dictionary referred to as a "code" of "dimension" k and "length" n.
When the size q of the "alphabet" is a power of a prime number, the alphabet can be given the structure of what is known as a "Galois field", denoted Fq, of which the non-zero elements may conveniently be identified as each being equal to γi for a corresponding value of i, where i=1, . . . , q−1, and where γ is a primitive (q−1)th root of unity in Fq.
In particular, certain codes, termed "linear codes" are such that any linear combination of codewords (with the coefficients taken from the alphabet) is still a codeword. These codes may conveniently be associated with a matrix H of dimension (n−k)×n, termed "parity check matrix": a word v of given length n is a codeword if, and only if, it satisfies the relationship: H·vT=0 (where the exponent T indicates the transposition); the code is then said to be "orthogonal" to the matrix H.
At the receiver, the associated decoding method then judiciously uses this redundancy to detect any transmission errors and if possible to correct them. There is a transmission error if the difference e between a received word r and the corresponding codeword v sent by the transmitter is non-zero.
More particularly, the decoding is carried out in two main steps.
The first step consists of associating an "associated codeword" with the received word. To do this, the decoder first of all calculates the "error syndromes" vector s=H·rT=H·eT. If the syndromes are all zero, it is assumed that no transmission error has occurred, and the "associated codeword" will then simply be taken to be equal to the received word. If that is not the case, it is thereby deduced that the received word is erroneous, and a correction algorithm is then implemented which is adapted to estimate the value of the error e; the algorithm will thus provide an estimated value ê such that (r−ê) is a codeword, which will then constitute the associated codeword. Usually, this first step is divided into two substeps: first identification is made of what the components are in the received word whose value is erroneous, and then the corrected value of those components is calculated.
The second step simply consists in reversing the encoding method. In the ideal situation in which all the transmission errors have been corrected, the initial information symbols are thereby recovered.
It will be noted that in the context of the present invention, reference will often be made to "decoding" for brevity, to designate solely the first of those steps, it being understood that the person skilled in the art is capable without difficulty of implementing the second step.
The purpose of an error correction algorithm is to associate with the received word the codeword situated at the shortest Hamming distance from that received word, the "Hamming distance" being, by definition, the number of places where two words of the same length have a different symbol. The shortest Hamming distance between two different codewords of a code is termed the "minimum distance" d of that code. This is an important parameter of the code. More particularly, it is in principle possible to find the position of the possible errors in a received word, and to provide the correct replacement symbol (i.e. that is identical to that sent by the transmitter) for each of those positions, each time the number of erroneous positions is at most equal to INT[(d−1)/2] (where "INT" designates the integer part) for a code of minimum distance d (for certain error configurations, it is sometimes even possible to achieve better). However, in all cases, the concern is not with a possibility in principle, since it is often difficult to develop a decoding algorithm achieving such performance. It should also be noted that, when the chosen algorithm manages to propose a correction for the received word, that correction is all the more reliable (at least, for most transmission channels) the smaller the number of positions it concerns.
Among known codes, "Reed-Solomon" codes may be cited, which are reputed for their efficiency. They are linear codes, of which the minimum distance d is equal to (n−k+1). The parity check matrix H of the Reed-Solomon code of dimension k and length n (where n is necessarily equal to (q−1) or to a divisor of (q−1)) is a matrix with (n−k) lines and n columns, which has the structure of a Vandermonde matrix. This parity check matrix H may for example be defined by taking Hij=α(i+1)j (0≦i≦n−k−1, 0≦j≦n−1), where α is an nth root of unity in Fq. For more details on Reed-Solomon codes, reference may for example be made to the work by R. E. Blahut entitled "Theory and practice of error-control codes", Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1983; this work provides in particular the description of the "Berlekamp-Massey" algorithm which enables the erroneous components in a received word to be identified, and of the "Forney" algorithm which then enables the value of those erroneous components to be corrected.
For modern information carriers, for example on computer hard disks, CDs ("compact discs") and DVDs ("digital video discs"), it is sought to increase the density of information. When such a carrier is affected by a physical defect such as a scratch, a high number of information symbols may be rendered unreadable. This problem may nevertheless be remedied by using a very long code. However, as indicated above, the length n of the words in Reed-Solomon codes is less than the size q of the alphabet of the symbols. Consequently, if a Reed-Solomon code is desired having codewords of great length, high values of q must be envisaged, which leads to costly implementations in terms of calculation and storage in memory. Moreover, high values of q are sometimes ill-adapted to the technical application envisaged. For this reason, it has been sought to build codes which naturally provide words of greater length than Reed-Solomon codes.
In particular so-called "algebraic geometric codes" or "Goppa geometric codes" have recently been proposed (see for example "Algebraic Geometric Codes" by par J. H. van Lint, in "Coding Theory and Design Theory" 1st part, IMA Volumes Math. Appl., volume 20, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1990). These codes are constructed from a set of n pairs (x,y) of symbols belonging to a chosen Galois field Fq; this set of pairs is termed a "locating set". In general terms, there is an algebraic equation with two unknowns X and Y such that the pairs (x,y) of that locating set are all solutions of that algebraic equation. The values of x andy of these pairs may be considered as coordinates of points Pj (where j =1, . . . , n) forming an "algebraic curve".
An important parameter of such a curve is its "genus" g. In the particular case where the curve is a simple straight line (the genus g s then zero), the algebraic geometric code reduces to a Reed-Solomon code. For given q and g, certain algebraic curves, termed "maximum", make it possible to achieve a length equal to (q+2g√{square root over (q)}), which may be very high; for example, with an alphabet size of 256 and a genus equal to 120, codewords are obtained of length 4096.
For a "one point" algebraic geometric code a parity check matrix is conventionally defined as follows: With every monomial h=XsYt, where s and t are positive integers or zero, a "weight" is associated (see below for details). If, for an integer ρ≧0, there is at least one monomial of which the weight is ρ, it is said that ρ is an "achievable" weight. Let ρ1<ρ2< . . . <ρn−k be the (n−k) smallest achievable weights, and let hi (where i=1, . . . , n−k) be a monomial of weight ρi. The element in line i and column j of the parity check matrix is equal to the monomial hi evaluated at the point Pj (where, it may be recalled, j=1, . . . , n) of the algebraic curve. Each point Pj then serves to identify the jth component of any codeword.
Algebraic geometric codes are advantageous as to their minimum distance d, which is at least equal to (n−k+1−g), and, as has been said, as to the length of the codewords, but they have the drawback of requiring decoding algorithms that are rather complex, and thus rather expensive in terms of equipment (software and/or hardware) and processing time. This complexity is in fact greater or lesser according to the algorithm considered, a greater complexity being in principle the price to pay for increasing the error correction capability of the decoder (see for example the article by Tom Høholdt and Ruud Pellikaan entitled "On the Decoding of Algebraic-Geometric Codes", IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 41 no. 6, pages 1589 to 1614, November 1995). Generally, the higher the genus g of the algebraic curve used, the greater the length of the codewords, but also the greater the complexity of the decoding.
A decoding algorithm for algebraic geometric codes is known, for example, from the article by A. N. Skorobogatov and S. G. Vladut entitled "On the Decoding of Algebraic-Geometric codes", IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 36 no.5, pages 1051 to 1060, September 1990).
Another example of an algorithm is disclosed in the article by M. Sakata et al. entitled "Generalized Berlekamp-Massey Decoding of Algebraic-Geometric Codes up to Half the Feng-Rao Bound" (IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol 41, pages 1762 to 1768, November 1995). This algorithm can be viewed as a generalization of the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm to algebraic geometric codes defined on a curve of non-zero genus.
Still another example is disclosed in the article by M. O'Sullivan entitled "A Generalization of the Berlekamp-Massey-Sakata Algorithm" (preprint 2001).

Decoding for algebraic geometric code associated with a fiber product


The embedded capacitor of the present invention contains a power plate, a ground plate, and a dielectric layer vertically sandwiched between the power and ground plates. Both the power and ground plates are divided laterally into a number of smaller plates with appropriate gaps therebetween; and, as such, cracks in the dielectric layers are limited to happen between gaps only. The smaller plates are then electrically connected by connectors in the gaps. The connectors for the power plate and the connectors for the ground plate are not vertically overlapped so that they do not appear simultaneously at the two ends of the cracks simultaneously.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to laminated printed circuit boards, and more particularly to an embedded capacitor structure for laminated printed circuit boards.
2. The Prior Arts
Embedding capacitors in laminated printed circuit boards (PCBs) were originally disclosed by a U.S. company, Zycon, in 1992. In a PCB's laminated process, Zycon proposed to add extremely thin (e.g., 2-4 mil) dielectric layer and copper foil adjacent to the power plane or ground plane of the PCB so as to form embedded capacitors integral to the PCB. At that time, it was referred to as buried capacitors (BC). The advantages of embedded capacitors usually cited are low noises under high frequency operation and PCB's real estate saving. Zycon had also been granted a number of related patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,079,069, 5,161,086, 5,155,655, etc. However, the technology at that time could only achieve embedded capacitors with limited capacitance and therefore failed to gain widespread popularity.
To increase the capacitance of embedded capacitors, it has been suggested to first form a dielectric layer of high dielectric constant on the power or ground plane of the PCB by ion sputtering, then to form a metallic thin layer on the dielectric layer by ion sputtering or electroless plating, and finally to increase the thickness of the thin metallic layer as an electrode by electroplating. The teaching is able to achieve high capacitance from embedded capacitors by significantly reducing the distance between the electrodes and by adopting dielectric material of high dielectric constant.
However, this teaching has certain reliability issues. The resin glass fabrics, a major material for the PCB, has different thermal expansion coefficient from those of the copper foil and the dielectric material. The differences are even more significant when the temperature is beyond the glass transition temperature. Therefore, when a heat source is involved (for example, for soldering) in the PCB manufacturing process after the embedded capacitors are formed, the stress resulted from the differences of the thermal expansion coefficients would cracks the dielectric layer. Further, due to copper's Conductive Anodic Filament (CAF) effect, the copper foils at the two sides of a crack of the dielectric layer would be shorted after a period of usage. The embedded capacitor, and the entire PCB, therefore fails.