A method of providing a controlled batch of micrometer-sized or nanometer-sized coal material. This method includes the steps of: (a) specifying at least one desired physical and/or chemical parameter of the controlled batch of coal material; (b) specifying the desired range of the physical and/or chemical parameter in the controlled batch of coal material; (c) obtaining a feedstock batch of coal material; and (d) processing a feedstock batch of coal material to obtain the controlled batch of coal material having the at least one specified physical and/or chemical parameter in the specified range thereof. In a further step, the controlled batch of coal material can be activated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coal material having a small particle size diameter and, in particular, to a method and process for providing a controlled batch of micrometer-sized or nanometer-sized coal material, which exhibits or demonstrates a specified and desired physical or chemical property within a specified range.
2. Description of Related Art
Coal is composed of a complex, heterogeneous mixture of organic and inorganic components that vary in shape, size, and composition depending on the nature of the vegetation from which they were derived, the environment in which they were deposited, and the chemical and physical processes that occurred after burial. As illustrated in Table 2, and according to the prior art, finely sized or pulverized anthracite and other coals are being used in fuel and non-fuel applications, including applications that use these coal materials as precursor particles for the production of high value-added carbon products. These carbon products, however, have minimal or no requirements directed to the exact physical and chemical properties, such as: (1) Particle Size and Distribution (PSD); (2) Particle Shape; (3) Specific Surface Area; and (4) Bulk Purity. Such application needs have been met with little or no success through the prior art coals offered.
TABLE 1United States Sieve Series and Tyler EquivalentsU.S. SieveTyler SieveNo.No.DesignationDesignationInchesmmNo. 44Mesh0.1854.699No. 88Mesh0.0932.362No. 109Mesh0.07872.0No. 1210Mesh0.0651.651No. 1412Mesh0.05551.4No. 1614Mesh0.0461.168No. 2020Mesh0.03280.833No. 3028Mesh0.02320.589No. 4035Mesh0.01640.417
Prior art powdered coal materials are being produced and applied with physical dimensions based only on a top size (and infrequently, a bottom size) specification in the mesh size region. The particle size of granular and powdered carbon is typically described by the mesh size through which it can pass. Industry standards use the United States Sieve designation to denote particle size, and the two sieve sizes describe the maximum percentage size and minimum percentage size of the bulk of the material. See Table 1. For example, an activated carbon sized 8×30 contains granules that pass a No. 8 sieve, but not a No. 30 sieve. A 3 mm pellet corresponds to 4×8 granules, while 4 mm pellets correspond to 4×6 granules.
Currently, pulverized coals are only described by the top mesh sieve through which it can pass, for example a "70% minus 200 Mesh (74μ)" designation is used to describe a powder which 70% passes through a Tyler sieve marked 200 mesh, therefore placing negligible restrictions on the number or volume of finest and coarsest particles within the distribution. Such a designation and composition is illustrated in Table 2.
TABLE 2Average Analysis of Pulverized, Impoundedand CWSF Coal MaterialsPC, Feedstock andImpoundedCWSFCWSFCWSF ParametersPCCoal FinesDay 1Day 2Moisture1.6 N.A.a52.151.2(As Received)bAsh22.214.171.124.9Volatile Matter22.6188.8.131.52Fixed Carbon63.236.661.160.8Carbon74.648.777.677.6Hydrogen220.127.116.11.7Nitrogen18.104.22.168.3Sulfur126.96.36.199.4Oxygen188.8.131.52.2Higher Heating Value12,7377,55413,48613,487(Btu/lb)Solids LoadingN.A.N.A.47.948.8(wt. %)cApparent ViscosityN.A.N.A.8099(@ 100 s−1)dpHeN.A.N.A.6.86.5Particle SizeDistribution (μm)f99.8% passing190-245190254293D(v, 0.9) 79-10587117142D(v, 0.5)31-39162930D(v, 0.1)7-8366aNot applicablebAll values reported on a weight %, dry basis unless noted otherwise.cDetermined using an AVC-80 CEM Microwave Moisture AnalyzerdDetermined using a Bohlin Visco 88BV ViscometereDetermined using an Orion Model 420A pH MeterfDetermined using a Malvern Series 2600C Droplet and Particle SizerFrom: Bruce G. Miller, Sharon F. Miller, Joel L. Morrison, and Alan W. Scaroni (1997)
Another property to be considered with respect to coal materials is the surface area of the particles. Many of the most popular methods for determining the surface area of powders and porous materials depend on the measurement of adsorption. It was the advent of gas adsorption for surface area determination that had replaced the practice of radioactive indicators and dye adsorption. The first significant advances in the development of gas adsorption technique were made by Brunauer and Emmett, and their work paved the way for the development of the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) theory in 1938.
Yet another property to be considered is bulk purity, a global property for a population of particles. Bulk purity represents the absence of non-coal or carbon material extrinsic of the particle. Extrinsic impurities may be either organic or inorganic in nature, and their origin may have been from the incoming feed material or during processing and handling.
Traditionally, measurements have been performed in order to rank different coal types. Primarily these measurements were taken to ascertain moisture, volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash and heating value of the subject material. Today, detailed chemical composition measurements can help to design feed material blends for both fuel and non-fuel uses such as Syn-Gas generation, activated carbons, and precursor materials for high value carbon materials such as molded or extruded graphite, binder pitch, ultra-capacitors, etc.
Current art classifies coals according to degree of coalification. The degree of coalification changes depending on factors of pressure, heat and time. As a result, various kinds of coals are generated. These coals have specific properties and are classified for their effective use by rank, a measure of the degree of coalification. In the United States, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) classifies coal into four classes: lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous and anthracite.
Table 2 represents the proximate and ultimate analysis of pulverized coal material, and further illustrates the limited information currently required to classify coals. However, this type of information, including the coal's heating value, serves as an adequate yardstick for comparing pulverized materials for fuel use applications only.
For the purposes of this description, and as is known in the art, activated anthracite is also considered activated carbon, such as activated charcoal; active carbon; active charcoal; amorphous carbon; bone black; bone coal; channel black; charcoal; decolorizing carbon; lamp black, etc. Activated carbon is a form of carbon arranged in a quasi-graphitic form and having a small particle size. In particular, this material is a solid, porous, black carbonaceous material and is tasteless. Further, activated carbon is distinguished from elemental carbon by the presence of non-carbon impurities and the oxidation of the carbon surface.
Activated carbon is manufactured in a variety of processes. According to the prior art, activated carbon can be prepared from a large number of sources by a wide variety of methods. The Merck Index divides these into four basic forms: Animal charcoal is obtained by charring bones, meat, blood, etc.; Gas black, furnace black, or channel black is obtained by the incomplete combustion of natural gas; Lamp black is obtained by burning various fats, oils, resins, etc., and Activated charcoal is prepared from wood and vegetables. Activated carbon can be produced from a number of agricultural commodities, such as hardwoods, grain hulls, corn cobs, and nut shells. Steam activation can also be used with food-grade carbonaceous material.
The activation process may also employ an acid treatment. For example, pecan shells can be activated by treatment with hydrochloric acid, then heated in an electric furnace for four hours at 800-1,000° C. in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide. Among the other raw materials used as precursors to make activated carbon are sawdust, peat, lignite, coal, cellulose residues, petroleum coke, spent ion exchange resins, such as styrene-divinyl benzene polymers and phenol-formaldehyde resins, old automobile tires and sewage sludge. Various binding agents may be added to improve the structure. Commercial sources appear to be made from a variety of precursors, activating agents, and binders.
Any given carbon sources may be prepared, treated or manufactured by a wide variety of methods. These may or may not involve synthetic acids, bases, and other substances in a stream of activating gases such as steam (H2O), nitrogen (N2) or carbon dioxide (CO2). Yields and quality can be improved by the removal of moisture. Microwaves can be used to pyrolize the carbon source. Lignite and peat are made into activated charcoal by low-temperature charring, followed by treatment with either superheated steam or potassium hydroxide. Carbon can be made into a cation-exchange resin by sulfonation, or by nitration and reduction, and treatment of low-rank coal with ethylene dichloride and ammonia makes activated carbon an anion exchange resin. Some processes treat carbonaceous matter with phosphoric acid and/or zinc chloride, with the resulting mixture carbonized at an elevated temperature, followed by the removal of the chemical activating agent by water washing. Some activated carbon can be recycled, reactivated, or regenerated from spent activated carbon.
Activated carbon may be used in a variety of specialized applications, for example: as a decolorizing agent; a taste- and odor-removing agent; and a purification agent in food processing. Food and beverage production accounts for only about 6% of the market for liquid-phase activated carbon. Of this, the greatest use is decoloring sugar. More recent applications have enabled the production of xylose and its derivatives from complex cellulose sources via fermentation and activated charcoal. Activated carbon remains the most common method used to de-color vinegar, and can also be used to remove ethylene from fruit storage facilities, particularly if brominated.
The primary use for activated carbon is the treatment of water, including potable water (24% of all use); wastewater (21%) and groundwater remediation (4%), which accounts for approximately half of all the use in the United States. These are indirectly related to organic production, because disinfected water filtered through activated carbon is a common food ingredient. Non-agricultural ingredients, such as enzymes, are also often purified by the use of activated carbon. Both can result in products processed by activated charcoal used to process food and beverages.
Activated charcoal also has non-food uses related to the production and consumption of agricultural commodities. For example, activated charcoal is used to filter tobacco smoke. There are also a number of applications related to purification in the clothing, textile, personal care, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Activated carbon also has a broad range of applications outside of food processing, such as in veterinary and analogous medical applications, such as detoxification. Activated charcoal is used in agriculture as a soil amendment (e.g., alkali-treated humates and humic acid derivatives), and as a component of nursery or transplant media, as well as to remove pesticide residues. Among the literally hundreds of other uses are agents in gas masks, pollution control devices such as car catalytic converters and flue gas desulfurization.
Referring now to the chemistry of activated carbon, it should be noted that activated carbon has an extraordinarily large surface area and pore volume that gives it a unique adsorption capacity. Some material includes particles having surface areas as high as 5,000 m2/g. The specific mode of action is extremely complex, and has been the subject of much study and debate. Activated carbon has both chemical and physical effects on substances where it is used as a treatment agent. Activity can be separated into: (1) adsorption; (2) mechanical filtration; (3) ion exchange; and (4) surface oxidation.
Adsorption is the most studied of these properties in activated carbon. This action can be either physical or chemical in nature, and frequently involves both. Physical adsorption involves the attraction by electrical charge differences between the adsorbent and the adsorbate. Chemical adsorption is the product of a reaction between the adsorbent and the adsorbate. Adsorption capacity depends upon: (1) physical and chemical characteristics of the adsorbent (carbon); (2) physical and chemical characteristics of the adsorbate; (3) concentration of the adsorbate in liquid solution; (4) characteristics of the liquid phase (e.g., pH, temperature); and (5) amount of time the adsorbate is in contact with the adsorbent (residence time).
Mechanical filtration involves the physical separation of suspended solids from a liquid passing through carbon arrayed as a porous media in a column or bed. Any finely divided solid, such as sand or cellulose, can accomplish this. While this accounts for some of the clarification properties of carbon, it is seldom the sole reason for the selection of carbon as a clarification medium. The effectiveness of filtration depends on particle size, bulk density, and hardness. While a smaller particle size results in a clearer liquid, it also slows the speed of processing. Bulk density determines how much carbon can be contained in a given container. Hardness is relevant, since the particles need to have sufficient strength to block the particulate matter being filtered.
Coal is a natural ion exchanger, and ion exchange can be enhanced by chemical activation. Carbon surfaces have both negative (anionic) or positive (cationic) charges to attract free ions in solution or suspension, depending on how they are treated. Treatment of carbon with a base increases the capacity of carbon to exchange anions; acidulation of the surface makes carbon a powerful cation exchanger. Surface oxidation involves the "chemisorption" (chemical adsorption) of atmospheric oxygen to the carbon and the further reaction of the surface oxides that chemically react with other substances that are oxidized. The surface of activated carbon has an electrical double layer.
The purity of the carbon and other substances found with it depends on the source, the manufacturing process, whether it is a virgin or regenerated source, and formulation. Bone char is generally 9-10% carbon and about 90% ash, with 80% of bone char composed of calcium phosphates. Activated carbon can be combined with a number of other substances that are effective agents for ion exchange. These might include filtering aids, e.g., silicon dioxide, and resins. The carbon is usually packed in a column that is non-reactive, but sometimes columns and other packing material will also provide ion exchange activity. Some of these are ceramic or polymeric. Activated carbon may also be used with a variety of metal catalysts, including nickel, copper, palladium, ruthenium, and titanium. Chlorine is often used with activated carbon to remove phenols and other chemicals.
Carbon can be reused if the adsorbed substances are removed. This process is known as 'regeneration'. Simply heating the spent carbon at a given temperature for an adequate length of time can regenerate activated carbon to the point where it can be reused for tertiary wastewater treatment (thermal regeneration). Thermal regeneration inevitably results in the loss of carbon. Also, thermal methods may not be the most efficient, inexpensive, or reliable method, so a number of solvents, acids, and alkalis may be employed to remove the adsorbed substances. These include such things as carbon tetrachloride, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide. Optimization of the regeneration process depends on the substances adsorbed as well as the structure of the activated carbon.
Charcoal dates back to the prehistoric discovery of fire. Ancient Hindus filtered their water with charcoal and Scheele discovered the fact that certain types of charcoal had adsorptive capacity, i.e., were chemically 'active' in 1773. Charcoal was found to decolor tartaric acid in 1785. In 1794, charcoal was first applied to the refinement of sugar. Natural forms of activated carbon such as charred animal bones (bone black) were used to refine sugar. Inventors patented a number of methods to improve the clarification, decolorization, and purification power of the bone char. These included improvements in: the control of the heat of carbonization; differential oxidation; mixing of bone with anthracite or bitumenous coal; addition of calcium phosphate to carbonized sugar; the packing of various clays upon the bone char in the retorts; complexing with various binders; and acidulation. By 1901, scientists had developed ways to synthesize activated carbon from coal that had equivalent or superior adsorptive and decolorizing capacity to bone black.
According to the prior art, most carbon material can be used to make activated carbon and the academic literature contains many references to activated carbon derived from many agricultural and industrial high-carbon waste products. Commercial activated carbon, however, is manufactured from only a few carbon sources: wood and sawdust, peat, coal, oil products, and nut shells and pits. Wood products and low-grade coal have some original porosity and are easier to activate than dense materials such as anthracite. However, any high carbon material can be activated, and it is generally not possible to discern the original starting material of an activated carbon product.
Activated carbon manufacturing consists of a charring or carbonization step in which most of the non-carbon material (and much of the carbon) is volatilized by pyrolysis (usually between 500 and 750° C.). The weight loss is usually 60% to 70% and much CO2 is volatilized. Coal is usually first pre-oxidized at 150° to 250° C. to prevent the coal from becoming thermoplastic during charring and collapsing the pore structure. The fine pore structure is formed in an activation process. In gas activation, an oxidizing gas, such as CO2 is used at a high temperature to erode pores into the char. In chemical activation, the char is impregnated with a chemical and then fired to high temperatures (usually 800 to 1000° C.). The activating chemical corrodes the carbon to form the pore structure. Chemical activation also alters the carbon surface. Activation chemicals are usually strong acids, bases or corrosives (phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, KOH, zinc chloride, potassium sulfide, or potassium thiocyanate). After activation, the chemicals are washed out for re-use, and the final pore structure depends on the nature of the starting material and the activation process. Materials with an original pore structure like wood take less processing than more dense and isotropic material like coal or tar. Impurity amounts are usually higher in the less carbon dense materials, however.
The surface chemistry of the activated carbon is strongly influenced by the activation process and subsequent chemical treatment. The surface contains abundant oxygen and hydrogen groups, which can decompose to CO2 and water. Other surface oxide complexes that have been found include phenols, carbonyl, lactone, carboxylic acid, and quinones. The abundance of surface complexes causes activated carbon to be a good absorber of many gases and aqueous chemicals. The non-selective absorption of many chemicals makes activated carbon an excellent absorber in poisoning or environmental contamination. Non-selectivity is less desirable when a specific chemical is to be removed from a process stream. Activated charcoal is impregnated with potassium carbonate for efficient catalytic reduction of CO2 gas, and debittering of citrus peels is mostly accomplished throught the use of ion exchange resin.
Charcoal is generally considered to be a natural agricultural product. Both charcoal and carbon black form naturally (forest fires), and have been used by man for thousands of years. Activated carbon does not occur naturally. A highly controlled two- or three-stage process is needed to form the high porosity of activated carbon. The activation step also requires either the addition of a synthetic chemical or direct injection of CO2 or O2 during the activation firing. Highly porous activated carbon should be considered synthetic. Bone char results from the destructive distillation of animal bones, and bone char production does not include an activation step. It is more analogous to the leftover material in the destructive distillation of coal to make coal tar.
According to the prior art, the micronization, activation and preparation of carbonaceous materials is known in the art. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos.: 6,318,649 to Mazurkiewicz; U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,941 to Roodman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,918 to Selles et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,512 to Orlandi; U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,824 to Brown et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,894 to Sheahan; U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,092 to Keller; U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,831 Nakai et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,173 to Vaughn et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,061 to Yoshino et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,820 to Quinn et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,560 to Hirahara et al. However, there is considerable room in the art for the exploration of additional and beneficial uses of micronized or nanoized, and activated, anthracite as a precursor for further utilization and/or functionalization. Also, according to the prior art, anthracite has been used as a precursor for the production of activated carbon. However, the physical dimension of the anthracite particles used has been in a mesh range with little or no consideration to particle size distribution. The smallest mesh size of carbon to be used for activation referenced in the prior art is 100 mesh (approximately 150 micrometers), and its corresponding minima/maxima range or maxima-only range defined in the greater than 100 micron region.

Method and process for providing a controlled batch of micrometer-sized or nanometer-sized coal material


Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft can provide opportunities to incorporate aerial transportation into transportation networks for cities and metropolitan areas. However, VTOL aircraft may be noisy. To accommodate this, the aircraft may utilize onboard sensors, offboard sensing, network, and predictive temporal data for noise signature mitigation. By building a composite understanding of real data offboard the aircraft, the aircraft can make adjustments to the way it is flying and verify this against a predicted noise signature (via computational methods) to reduce environmental impact. This might be realized via a change in translative speed, propeller speed, or choices in propulsor usage (e.g., a quiet propulsor vs. a high thrust, noisier propulsor). These noise mitigation actions may also be decided at the network level rather than the vehicle level to balance concerns across a city and relieve computing constraints on the aircraft.

The present disclosure relates to aviation transport, and specifically, to vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft noise signature mitigation.
There is generally a wide variety of modes of transport available within cities. People may walk, ride a bike, drive a car, take public transit, use a ride sharing service, and the like. However, as population densities and demand for land increase, many cities are increasingly experiencing problems with traffic congestion and the associated pollution. Consequently, there is a need to expand the available modes of transport in ways that may reduce the amount of traffic without requiring the use of large amounts of land.
Air travel within cities has been limited compared to ground travel. Air travel can have a number of requirements making intra-city air travel difficult. For instance, aircraft can require significant resources such as fuel and infrastructure (e.g., runways), produce significant noise, and require significant time for boarding and alighting, each presenting technical challenges for achieving larger volume of air travel within cities or between neighboring cities. However, providing such air travel may reduce travel time over purely ground-based approaches as well as alleviate problems associated with traffic congestion.
Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft provide opportunities to incorporate aerial transportation into transport networks for cities and metropolitan areas. VTOL aircraft require much less space to take-off and land relative to traditional aircraft. In addition, developments in battery technology have made electric VTOL aircraft technically and commercially viable. Electric VTOL aircraft may be quieter than aircraft using other power sources, which further increases their viability for use in built-up areas where noise may be a concern.
However, VTOL aircraft create noise and may fly through areas in which the perceived acceptable noise level is low, such as residential areas. Thus, with an increase in demand for viable modes of transportation, a method for mitigating noise signatures of VTOL is desired.

Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft noise signature mitigation


A mobile terminal, an on-the-go (OTG) control and configuration method, and a storage medium, wherein the method includes: obtaining an accumulated number of changes of differences in voltages of at least one of a positive data line and a negative data line in an OTG data cable at intervals; according to the accumulated number of changes of the differences in the voltages of at least one of the positive data line and the negative data line in the OTG cable, querying a lookup table pre-stored in the mobile terminal for a current value corresponding to the number of changes; and according to the queried current value, controlling the mobile terminal to set the current value as a current limit for an OTG peripheral device.

The present application relates to the mobile terminal field, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal, an on-the-go (OTG) control and configuration method, and a storage medium.
On-the-go, abbreviated as OTG, is a technology developed and widely used in recent years. The OTG technology was released by USB Implementers Forum in December 2001, and is mainly used for connection between various devices or mobile terminal devices, as well as data exchange. With development of the OTG technology and other technologies, a mobile terminal may power a USB flash disk and other devices connected to it and perform common operations such as file copy by using the OTG technology. The mobile terminal may also power a mouse and other devices connected to it and obtain a mouse trajectory by using the OTG technology.
Currently, as long as an OTG peripheral device is connected to the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal will automatically charge the OTG peripheral device, and when a critical operation is performed between the mobile terminal and the OTG peripheral device, a large amount of data may be transmitted at high speed in a cable, or a small amount of data transmitted may be small but extremely critical to the operation, and it is necessary to maintain stability of voltages in the cable. Since currents will change at any time during a process of charging the OTG peripheral device by the mobile terminal, this results in changes of the voltages in the cable, thereby leading to current changes causing interference to the OTG operation. When the operation performed is not critical, it may be repaired by re-delivering operation contents, but if the operation is critical (such as formatting the USB flash disk), the OTG peripheral device will crash, causing inconvenience to users.
Therefore, it is necessary to solve defects of the existing technology and make developments.

On-the-go (OTG) control and configuration method, mobile terminal, and storage medium


Disclosed are curable aqueous coating compositions comprising at least one polyurethane (A) as binder, at least one laminar metallic effect pigment (B), and at least one inorganic thickener C1) selected from the group of the phyllosilicates, and at least one organic thickener C2) selected from the group of the (meth)acrylic acid-(meth)acrylate copolymer thickeners and polyurethane thickeners, where the amount of B), based on the total binder content of the coating material composition is >9% by weight, the total solids based on the coating material composition is between 12.5% and 17% by weight, the total amount of the thickeners C1 and C2), based on the total binder content of the coating composition is <12.5% by weight, the weight ratio of C2) to C1) is >0.4, and the amount of B), based on the coating material composition, is between 1.2 and 2.3% by weight.

The well-established aqueous or solventborne coating materials, particularly those known as basecoat materials, and the multicoat effect paint systems produced using them exhibit performance properties that are substantially good.
The continually growing technical, and more particularly esthetic, requirements of the market, particularly of the automakers and their customers, however, are necessitating a continual onward development of the technical and esthetic level attained to date. Modern bodywork design, with its pronounced rounding, fits in very well with finishes exhibiting a pronounced flip-flop effect. The desire to produce an effect resembling metal can be realized through the use of very thin aluminum flakes, with sizes in the nanometer range, of the kind described in EP 0826745 A2, for example.
More particularly, there is a need for new coating materials which allow production of basecoats exhibiting a particularly strongly pronounced light/dark behavior. At the same time, however, the advantages achieved by the known basecoat materials and the basecoats produced from them should not be lost, but should instead be retained to at least the same extent and preferably a greater extent.
The corresponding effect-imparting and also, where appropriate, color-imparting basecoats are therefore to possess, in particular, good haze behavior, i.e., no haze, good leveling, and a very good overall visual appearance. Furthermore, the basecoats are to be free from paint defects, light/dark shading (clouds), and bits. The resulting coatings are, furthermore, to have no optical defects and to possess satisfactory adhesion to the clearcoat.
The coating materials are additionally to feature high storage stability, i.e., no significant deterioration in the properties either of the coating materials or of the coatings produced from these coating materials after storage of the latter at 40° C. (for 28 days). Hence there is to be no significant deterioration in the rheological properties of the coating materials, more particularly no significant increase in viscosity, and no bittiness and no significant deterioration in metallic flop.
Conventional, prior-art aqueous basecoats are easy to produce, stable on storage and transportable. In terms of application, technological properties (adhesion, long-term weathering), storage stability and circuit line stability, and also in terms of appearance, they meet the requirements that are usual within automobile finishing.
EP 1 591 492 A1 describes, for example, a basecoat material which comprises metallic pigments, which can be aqueous or solvent-based, and which includes a relatively high fraction of the metallic pigment—preferably 12% to 20% by weight based on the total binder content. The focus of EP 1 591 492 A1, however, is on providing highly moisture-stable systems.
WO 2006/017197 A1 discloses a process for producing special-effect finishes, which uses relatively low fractions of a laminar metallic pigment with comparatively high quantities of binder and solids fractions in order to produce an effect paint, the paint requiring use not only of the laminar metallic pigment but also of at least one further, additional special-effect pigment.

Aqueous coating compositions pigmented with flake-form metallic effect pigments, processes for preparing them and use thereof for producing multicoat paint finish


Principal types of dielectric ceramics include capacitors, and piezoelectric electroptic and optical ceramics. The former are typically barium titanates, the latter, so-called PZT or PLZT materials. The ceramic materials are made by forming an alloy including the metallic elements in substantially stoichiometric proportions, and then oxidizing the alloy to produce the ceramic. In preferred embodiments, the alloy includes a dopant that is encapsulated in a noble metal, preferably silver. Preferred dielectrics are made by making a multi-layer structure in which a plurality of alloy layers (typically less than 20, and preferably less than 5, microns thick) are separated by conductive layers (preferably a noble metal), and then oxidizing the overall structure to form a multi-layer capacitor.

Four principal types of electroceramics are dielectrics, piezoelectrics, electrooptic and optical materials. Such electroceramics are used in such devices as capacitors, sensors, transducers, actuators, waveguides, and optical storage media. Barium titanate, often with additives such as liquid-phase sintering aids, grain growth inhibitors, stabilizers, and curie-point shifters, is a common material used for ceramic capacitors. Piezoelectric, electro-optic and optical devices are commonly made of lead zirconate titanate (often referred to as "PZT") or lanthanum-modified PZT (often referred to as "PLZT"), and other dopants or additives may be added to either system. Other previously used electroceramic compositions include bismuth titanate, lead niobate, sodium potassium niobate, lead titanate and other compounds including elements from columns IV-A and V-A of the periodic table.
The common method for producing ceramic oxide bodies involves blending the ceramic precursor (oxide, carbonate, etc.) powder with one or more of a solvent, dispersant, plasticizer and binder, forming a green body by tape casting or extrusion, and firing the green body so as to pyrolize the organic components, form the desired phases, and densify the body. A wide range of such compositions and the prior art methods by which they are prepared are discussed in some detail in Ceramic Materials For Electronics Processing, Properties and Applications, edited by Relva C. Buchanan and published by Marcel Dekker, Inc. of New York and Basel in 1986.
The different prior art processes are subject to various limitations. While the use of organic additions has aided in the shaping of green bodies, difficulties encountered during organic pyrolysis (e.g., non-uniform shrinkage, incomplete burnout, formation of stable carbonates) can make formation of dense, complex shapes with a desired microstructure difficult. In particular, there is needed a procedure which can be used to form non-planar geometries and constructions, e.g., coaxial or multi-layer bodies, or curved beam devices, and which can be used to make multi-layer capacitors and similar structures in which the individual ceramic layers are less than 20 microns (and preferably less than 10 micron) thick.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,808, which is also here incorporated by reference, discloses a method of producing a composite of superconducting oxide by first forming a precursor alloy which includes the metallic elements of the desired superconducting oxide and then oxidizing the alloy to form the complex superconducting oxide. The patent discloses mixing at least one "noble" metal element (e.g., a metal whose oxide is thermodynamically unstable under the reaction conditions employed) with the alloy elements, and then oxidizing the alloy-noble metal elements to form a structure in which a substantially pure noble metal phase is intimately mixed with the superconducting oxide.

Electroceramics and process for making the same


A device for indicating that an airplane has reached a safe speed in the presence of headwinds for initiating take-off rotation. The device senses the true ground speed of the airplane and converts the true ground speed into an "indicated ground speed" in accord with the relationship between true air speed and indicated air speed for the airplane. The device subtracts the indicated ground speed from the indicated air speed of the airplane to determine the amount of the headwind and, whenever the headwind exceeds a preselected margin, the device increases the value of the safe minimum indicated air speed for initiation of take-off by any excess of the headwind over the preselected margin. The device then directs the flight director to initiate take-off rotation when the indicated air speed of the airplane equals or exceeds the adjusted minimum indicated air speed.

a. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to devices used to aid the pilot of an airplane in determining the point in the take-off roll of an airplane at which the pitch or attitude of the airplane safely may be rotated to begin take-off from the ground.
b. Description of the Prior Art
This invention is an improvement of the invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,592 ("592"). The specification of the "592" patent discloses a device which indicates when airplane rotation may be initiated to begin take-off. As pointed out in the "592" patent, air speed sensors and indicators have been used in the prior art to indicate when an airplane has attained a predetermined air speed that is deemed sufficient for safe rotation of the airplane for take-off. However, if part of the air speed is due to a headwind which decreases suddenly immediately after take-off, insufficient air speed may then remain for a safe continuation of the take-off. As a consequence, rather than depend only upon indicated air speed as an indication that a safe speed has been reached for rotation, a safer procedure is to use an air speed sensor combined with a ground speed sensor that determines the amount of the headwind and then adjusts the minimum air speed for take-off to higher values if the headwind exceeds a predetermined minimum.
The air speed of the airplane typically is measured by means of a Pitot tube located at an appropriate place on the fuselage of the airplane. The air speed indicated by such an instrument, which air speed is generally referred to as the "indicated air speed," differs from the actual, or true, air speed as a function of air density and compressible flow. The amount of the "lift" to the airplane that can be provided at take-off by the airflow over the airplane wings is a function of the dynamic air pressure. The dynamic air pressure is substantially the same as the pressure that is sensed by the Pitot tube and that is described in terms of an "indicated air speed." As a consequence the "indicated air speed", rather than the true air speed, normally is utilized for determining when take-off rotation may be initiated.
For a specific ambient air temperature and pressure, the ratio between indicated air speed and true air speed is a constant. This constant, however, is a function of both the ambient air temperature and pressure.
Prior to take-off the pilot of the airplane typically uses the temperature, loaded weight of the airplane and performance data for the airplane to determine from charts or other sources the minimum indicated air speed for safe airplane rotation to initiate take-off. In the "592" patent, the minimum indicated air speed, in effect, was reduced by an appropriate margin to determine the minimum safe ground speed for take-off rotation that would allow for a decrease in headwind just after take-off. As pointed out above, because of the dependence of indicated air speed upon ambient air temperature and pressure, the indicated air speed for take-off rotation may differ significantly from the corresponding true air speed required for take-off rotation. As a consequence, if the minimum actual or "true" ground speed for take-off rotation is determined simply in terms of the minimum indicated air speed less a specified margin of perhaps 5 to 10 knots, the actual or true minimum ground speed may differ from the true minimum air speed for take-off rotation by a substantially greater margin, thus providing less protection against a sudden decrease in headwind shortly after take-off.

Airplane safe take-off rotation indicator


A drilling machine includes a frame, a control unit, a drilling unit and a cable assembly. The control unit is connected to the frame. The drilling unit is movably supported on the frame. The cable assembly electrically connects the control unit to the drilling unit. The cable assembly is substantially concealed by and between the frame and the drilling unit.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a drilling machine and, more particularly, to a robust drilling machine.
2. Related Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 8, a conventional drilling machine includes a frame 91, a motor 92, a chuck 93, a cable 94, a basket 95, a bottle 96, a pipe 97 and an elevating unit 98. The motor 92 is movably supported on the frame 91. The chuck 93 is operatively connected to the motor 92. A control unit (not shown) is supported on the frame 91. The motor 92 is electrically connected to the control unit via the cable 94. The basket 95 is connected to the frame 91. The bottle 96 is placed in the basket 95. The chuck 93 is connected to the bottle 96 via the pipe 97. The elevating unit 98 is operatively connected to the motor 92. The elevating unit 98 is operable to move the motor 92 up and down on the frame 91. The elevating unit 98 includes several handles. Coolant is contained in the bottle 96. In operation, the coolant is transmitted to the chuck 93 from the bottle 96. Then, the coolant is transmitted to a drill from the chuck 93.
The cable 94 is exposed to a user. A user is tempted to carry the drilling machine by the cable 94. The cable 94 could easily be torn from the motor 92 or the control unit, and this is not desired.
The basket 95, the bottle 96 and the pipe 97 are placed out of the frame 91. The basket 95, the bottle 96 and the pipe 97 could easily be hit and damaged. The basket 95 and the pipe 97 could easily be tangled with an external object and get damaged. The basket 95 and the pipe 97 could easily be tangled with an external object and get damaged or torn from the chuck 93 or the bottle 96.
Therefore, the present invention obviates or at least alleviates the problems encountered in the prior art.


A input system (100), controlling an electromedical device (105), includes a network (110), an input unit (120) and a control unit (140). The input unit has a touch display (122) and detects an input area (125) and outputs an input signal (126) to the network via an input interface (128), if a comparison between the input area and a displayed control menu (130) makes possible an assignment, between the input area and the control command, if the input area is located within a command area (132) on the touch display, and if the control command is contained in a group of currently executable control commands. The control unit receives the input signal and outputs a control signal (142), based on the input signal, to the electromedical device for actuating the corresponding application and sends a confirmation signal (144) to the input unit after the output of the control signal.

Input systems which are connected to an electromedical device and can output control signals to the electromedical device are basically known in the clinical setting. In this case, it is also known that the input system is formed by a touch display, which displays a control menu, so that a control command for the electromedical device is selected by a user by touching the touch display.
US 2009/0326389 A1 describes a system, in which a ventilator and a user interface are connected via a communication network, the user interface having a graphic user surface that is synchronized with a current operating mode of the ventilator.

Input system and process for controlling an electromedical device


A piston device comprises a sleeve, a casing pipe, a first piston, a resilient member, and a second piston. The sleeve includes at least one hole arranged at the periphery of its closed end. The casing pipe has at least a through hole arranged on a lateral side thereof proximate to its closed end and is sheathed and connected to the sleeve by a manner that the open end of the casing pipe is faced toward the closed end of the sleeve. The first piston is arranged to sheathe the casing pipe at a position proximate to the closed end of the casing pipe for selectively covering and exposing the through hole by a reciprocate movement. The resilient member is installed in side the sleeve at a position between the closed end of the sleeve and the first piston while ensheathing the casing pipe therethrough. The second piston is arranged to sheathe the sleeve at a position proximate to its open end. Moreover, by combining the piston device with a container containing fluid and gas, a fluid/gas drawing apparatus can be formed, and, by combining the fluid/gas drawing apparatus with a nozzle, a foam producing apparatus capable of producing thick foams can be formed.

As the standard of our life advances, the methods of using daily commodities such as beauty treatment kits, and personal sanitary and bath products indispensable to our life are improved according to the advancement of related technologies. For example, shampoo has evolved from shampoo powder to bottled liquid shampoo, and users just need to gently press the bottle to draw liquid shampoo. The major core of these products resides on the apparatus of drawing liquid shampoo or hair gel. This type of pump drawing apparatus simply requires users to press a pull handle or a press handle to draw the liquid from a can or a bottle and obtain the desired result (such as sprays, foams, or liquid discharges).
Referring to FIG. 1 for the schematic view of a drawing structure of a prior art sprayer, the drawing structure 1 includes a casing pipe 12 coupled to the bottom of a nozzle 11, and the casing pipe 12 includes a drawing pipe 13, and the bottom of the drawing pipe 13 is coupled to a conical cover 14. The bottom of the conical cover 14 allows a pressing rod 15 to pass through, and the rear end of the pressing rod 15 presses against an end of a spring 16, and another end of the spring 16 has a ball 17, and a containing pipe 18 accommodates the drawing pipe 13, conical cover 14, pressing rod 15, spring 16, and ball 17 vertically and sequentially in the pipe, and the bottom of the containing pipe 18 includes a sucking pipe 19, and the whole drawing structure 1 is placed in a liquid can or bottle for drawing liquids.
The related drawing apparatuses for drawing liquid from a bottle have been disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. Application Nos. 094202158 and 088205688. The drawing apparatuses as disclosed in forgoing patented technology can only draw a liquid, but cannot simultaneously draw a liquid and a gas. In certain occasions that require the use of foams such as disk washing or hair shampooing, the foregoing drawing apparatuses are generally used for drawing detergent or shampoo, and users produce foams by rubbing the detergent or shampoo with hands. However, such arrangement usually cannot control the consuming quantity of detergent or shampoo. Particularly, excessive detergent may remain on kitchenware, if the kitchenware is not rinsed thoroughly, and finally may hurt human bodies. The same situation applies to shampoo, and the shampoo remained on our scalp may cause damages to our scalp.
In summation to the description above, a piston device and a fluid drawing apparatus and a foam producing apparatus using such piston device are required to provide the functions of drawing a liquid and a gas as well as appropriately producing foams easily, so as to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.

Piston device and a fluid/gas drawing apparatus and a foam producing apparatus using such piston device


A guide shoe that utilizes an eccentric nose attached to a cylindrical body that has spiraled, ridged blades extending outward from the body. An orientation system is attached between the body and a hollow shaft. The orientation system is designed to allow free rotation of the body and nose about the shaft during the insertion of the tubing into the hole. It does this by providing clearance between a pawl and notches on the cylindrical body. Indexing of the eccentric nose is provided by a slight retraction of the tubing string in the well hole. Friction between the well hole and ridged blade causes the cylindrical body to rotate about the shaft and lock into an oriented position. The guide shoe is attached to the tubing string by a threaded female connection mating to the matching male connection on the tubing string.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to guide shoes for oil well development and particularly to a self-orienting guide shoe for oil well development
2. Description of the Prior Art
The process of drilling for oil is a multi-step process. First, a borehole is drilled into the ground using a drill bit and drill motor attached to the bottom of the drill string. Drilling mud lubricates the borehole and provides the means to power the drill motor. After the borehole has been drilled to a sufficient depth, tubing is inserted into the borehole. Extended reach wells requires a significant axial force to be placed upon the tubing string during the insertion process. Once the tubing reaches final depth, the bore hole and tubing are cleaned and clearance between the tubing and bore hole is provided by pumping high pressure fluid into the tubing string and then out through a guide shoe, which forces debris upward and out of the hole. This is followed by high pressure pumping of cement to secure the tubing into the ground and for zonal isolation. The guide shoe is attached to the bottom of the tubing string and is used to negotiate well bores that have a high degree of deviation, ledges, and depths inherent in extended reach directional drilling. Advanced technology utilized in current guide shoe design includes a rotating eccentric nose that can better negotiate well deviations, and a means of centralization to reduce affects of friction to achieve greater total depth. A problem with the prior art devices is that they do not address the need to overcome friction of the guide shoe and the well bore to orient the eccentric nose to an advantageous position that would enable to the guide shoe to negotiate extreme deviations and ledges in the hole. Rotating guide shoes have the problem of slipping on obstacles, which make progress inefficient, if not impossible. Some guide shoes use reamers to cut through the obstructions without rotating, this is better than simply spinning in place, but can cause difficulties, depending on the material contacted.


The present disclosure provides a display panel and a display device. The display panel includes a border region, an optical component region, and a main display region. The border region is provided with multiple load compensation units. At least one first data line is electrically connected to M load compensation units, so as to compensate for a load of the first data line, making the compensated load on the first data line and a load on the second data line are basically the same or tend to be the same. In this way, any display difference across different regions of the display panel due to a difference of the load on the first data line and the load on the second data line may be avoided, which in turn improves the display uniformity of the display panel and improves the display effect of the display panel.

With the continuous improvement of living standards, users have higher and higher requirements for a screen-to-body ratio of a display device. In order to meet this requirement, the display devices are gradually improved from narrow border to borderless to obtain better visual effects.
In conventional display devices, a position of an optical element set in the display device, such as a camera or a structured light emitting element, may have a certain negative impact on the display effect of the display device. Therefore, how to eliminate such negative impact is a problem to be solved urgently.

XIAMEN TIANMA MICRO-ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A communication control apparatus includes an acquirer that acquires operation information of a moving object having a shielded space therein, and a controller that controls at least one of a channel between a first base station installed in a car in the moving object and a second base station installed on each floor where the car is stoppable, transmission power of the first base station and transmission power of the second base station, and location information for locating a position of a mobile terminal for each floor where the car is stoppable, on the basis of the operation information.

In mobile communication systems, it has been considered that small base stations that form femtocells, which are small cells with a radius of several tens of meters or less, be installed indoors where it is difficult for radio waves to reach, in order to enable indoor communication (such small base stations may be referred to as "femto base stations" hereinafter).
In order to meet the desires of mobile-terminal users to be able to carry out reliable communication anywhere, it is expected that femto base stations will be installed in various indoor locations in the future. For example, it is conceivable that femto base stations are installed on each floor of a building. In addition, it is conceivable to install femto base stations not only on each floor but also in an elevator car (which may simply be referred to as a "car" hereinafter) in order to enable reliable communication in the elevator in a building.
Since the car moves between multiple floors, handover for a mobile terminal is performed between a base station (which may be referred to as an "elevator base station") installed in the car and the base stations (which may be referred to as "floor base stations" hereinafter) installed on each floor in order to avoid interruption of communication. It is therefore desired that the handover be performed smoothly in order to enhance the quality of service for mobile terminal users.
Since the car moves between multiple floors, the influences of the elevator base stations cause the radio wave environment at each floor to vary depending on the floor where the car is present. In addition, when the door of the car is closed, the car becomes a shielded space where it is difficult for radio waves from the inside of the car to go out and difficult for radio waves from the outside to reach the inside. On the other hand, when the door of the car is open, the car becomes a space where it is easy for radio waves from the inside of the car to go out and easy for radio waves from the outside to reach the inside. Hence, the radio wave environment at each floor also varies depending on the open/closed state of the door of the car. It is therefore desired that appropriate control corresponding to such variations in the radio wave environment be performed in order to enhance the quality of service for mobile terminal users.
Examples of related art include Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-135383 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-120095.

Communication control apparatus and communication control method


A silicon photomultiplier array of microcells including a photon avalanche diode and an electronic circuit configured to provide a first one-shot pulse and a second one-shot pulse based on a detected current flowing through the photon avalanche diode. The microcells arranged in rows and columns with each microcell of a respective row connected to a respective row data bus connected to a row counter configured to count one or more first one-shot pulses for a predetermined time period, a pixel adder configured to sum the count, and a digital-to-analog converter connected to the pixel adder to convert sum to an analog signal representative of an energy readout. A timing logic circuit configured to provide a validation signal to a counter control logic circuit, and the counter control logic circuit configured to provide one of a start signal, a stop signal, and a reset signal to the row counter.

Two conventional approaches to implement photon sensors based on an array of single photon avalanche diodes (SPAD) operated in Geiger mode include analog silicon photo multipliers (SiPM), and digital silicon photomultipliers (dSiPM), also known as digital photon counters.
In conventional SiPM devices each individual SPAD is connected to a readout network via a quenching resistor having typical values between 100 KOhm-1 MOhm. A detected photon generates an avalanche, the SPAD capacitance discharges to a breakdown voltage and the recharging current creates a signal. Typical pulse shape of single photo electron (SPE) signal has a fast rise time, following a long fall time. As a result, pulse shape of a nuclear detector signal has a slow rise time (about a few tens of nanoseconds). These pulse shape characteristics make it difficult to achieve good time resolution.
Conventional dSiPM devices incorporate special electronic circuitry for each SPAD produced on the same silicon wafer. This circuitry is designed to detect avalanche and actively quench the SPAD. Each circuitry has a memory element (one to a few bits). A special network tree is used to collect time stamps from all the SPADs. A special read out cycle has to be executed to obtain information on the number of photons detected per event. This read out cycle requires a special digital controller for each dSiPM.
A SiPM pixel can include thousands of micro-cells. These micro-cells are conventionally arranged as an array. For analog SiPM pixels, the micro-cells in the pixel can be wire-summed together to output a signal in an analog fashion. Unlike the analog SiPM, a dSiPM pixel can include built-in electronics for each micro-cell.
FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of conventional digital photon counter 100 that uses multiple dSiPM pixels 110. To read out timing, dSiPMs can include a complicated trigger network and an on-chip time-to-digital converter (TDC) fabricated on the same wafer. To read out energy, the dSiPM uses counter 130 connected to line 120 to scan the microcell array and count the number of firing microcells. The counter then outputs the final count accumulated during a predetermined time period to controller 150 as its digitized energy reading. The controller can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The counter and external controller can be connected by data bus 140.

Silicon photomultipliers with digitized micro-cells having a first one-shot pulse and a second one-shot pulse provided by an electronic circuit


A box-frame housing for the installation of electronic modules has frame elements and side walls and provides a subdivision into sub-regions, which are limited by dividing walls. The frame elements and the side walls and dividing walls provide at least one recess and/or at least one edge projection. A projection engages in a recess and both are connected to one another by welding.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a box-frame housing for the installation of electronic modules with a subdivision into sub-regions and a method for its manufacture.
2. Discussion of the Background
Document DE 196 03 368 A1 describes a box-frame housing for electronic measuring devices of a design conventional at the time. The box-frame housing described comprises an enclosed rectangular frame, a rack-shelf mount with a flat base and narrow side walls projecting at right angles from it, which accommodate the operating elements of the device, and a front cover, which is fitted over the rack-shelf mount and forms the front of the box-frame housing. A module carrier, which is made from sheet metal parts to form a box open on at least one side and in which the individual modules are inserted, is attached to the frame at the rear. A tubular housing, which is open at the front and the rear and is manufactured from sheet metal by bending, can be fitted to the module carrier from the rear. For high-frequency shielding, an all-round annular groove, into which a woven metal thread can be inserted, is formed on a contact web.
The disadvantage with the box-frame housing described is the considerable space required to withdraw the tubular housing, and accordingly, the poor accessibility, especially when the housing is already installed in a rack. A housing mounted on telescopic rails, for example, must be released from the telescopic rails in order to withdraw the tubular housing. Electronic modules are therefore generally installed from the rear of the device in the direction towards the front panel in order to avoid this awkward opening of the housing when modules are replaced. Moreover, it would be desirable to form sub-regions within the housing, which are limited by dividing walls, and, in this manner to group modules of a different type separately.

Box-frame housing and a method of manufacture


Provided is construction and a manufacturing method of an inner shaft for an extendable and contractible shaft for which finishing for forming a synthetic resin coating layer 19a on the outer-circumferential surface of a male spline section 14b is performed, while at the same time an increase in weight thereof is suppressed. A concave groove 22 that extends in the axial direction is provided on the outer-circumferential surface of the male spline section in a state so as to be continuous in the axial direction with one male spline groove 23 of the male spline grooves 23 of the male spline section 14b. A portion of the concave groove 22 that is separated in the axial direction from the male spline section 14b is used to perform phase alignment of a cutting tool for performing a finishing process of a coating layer 19a and unevenness in the circumferential direction of the male spline section 14b.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, an automobile steering apparatus is constructed so that the movement of a steering wheel 1 is transmitted to a steering gear 2. More specifically, the movement of the steering wheel 1 is transmitted to an input shaft 6 of the steering gear 2 by way of a steering shaft 3, a universal joint 4a, an intermediate shaft 5, and a universal joint 4b; and the steering gear 2 applies a desired steering angle to the steered wheels by pushing or pulling tie rods 7. In this steering apparatus, an electric-powered power steering apparatus is assembled such that an electric motor 8 applies an auxiliary force to the steering shaft 3 according to a force that is applied to the steering wheel 1 by the driver.
In order to be able to adjust the forward/backward position of the steering wheel 1 according to the size and driving posture of the driver, this steering apparatus has a mechanism that causes a steering shaft 3 and a steering column 9 that rotatably supports the steering shaft 3 to extend or contract. More specifically, the steering shaft 3 is constructed by a so-called telescopic steering shaft that combines an outer shaft 10 and an inner shaft 11 by a spline joint so that extension and contraction is possible, and so that torque can be transmitted. Moreover, the steering column 9 is constructed by an outer column 12 and an inner column 13 that are combined so as to be able to freely extend or contract.
The intermediate shaft 5 also has extendable and contractible construction in order to prevent the steering wheel 1 from being pushed to the driver's side during a collision accident. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of construction of a conventional intermediate shaft. The intermediate shaft has an inner shaft 15 that is provided with a male spline section 14 around the outer-circumferential surface of the front end section thereof, and a cylindrical outer shaft 17 on which a female spline section 16 is formed around the inner-circumferential surface thereof so that the male spline section 14 can be freely inserted therein. By fitting the male spline section 14 into the female spline section 16 with a spline fit, the inner shaft 15 and outer shaft 17 are combined so as to be able to freely extend or contract. The base-end sections of one of the yokes 18a, 18b of the universal joints 4a, 4b are welded and fastened to the base-end sections of the inner shaft 15 and outer shaft 17.
As illustrated in FIG. 10, the intermediate shaft 5 is such that normally the male spline section 14 on the front-end side of the inner shaft 15 is located in the portion near the rear end of the female spline section 16 of the outer shaft 17. When the front section of the vehicle is pushed and crushed and the steering gear 2 is pushed toward the rear due to a collision accident (primary collision), the entire length of the intermediate shaft 5 contracts by the inner shaft 15 (male spline section 14) staying in the original position as is and the outer shaft 17 moving toward the rear, so that the male spline 14 enters the innermost section of the female spline section 16. With this kind of construction, even though the steering gear 2 is displaced toward the rear, the steering wheel 1 is prevented from moving toward the rear and being pushed toward the driver's side, so it is possible to protect the driver during a primary collision. During a secondary collision, the entire length of the steering shaft 3 contracts, which makes it possible to protect the driver from colliding with the steering wheel 1.
For an extendable and contractible shaft for a steering apparatus such as an intermediate shaft 5 and steering shaft 3, (1) a function for allowing torque to be transmitted during steering without any looseness even though there is backlash in the engaging section between the outer shaft and the inner shaft, and (2) a function that allows the shaft to extend or contract with a small force when extending or contracting the shaft are desired. Therefore, a synthetic resin coating layer that slides easily (has a low coefficient of friction) is provided on at least one of the outer-circumferential surfaces of the male spline section of the inner shaft and inner-circumferential surface of the female spline section of the outer shaft as disclosed in JP 2011-173464 (A), JP 2005-042761 (A), JP 2012-040949 (A) and the like.
When providing a coating layer on the outer-circumferential surface of the male spline section of the inner shaft, a resin layer is formed by forming a synthetic resin coating on the outer-circumferential surface of the male spline section, and then the excess portion is removed to make the film thickness of the resin layer uniform, and a finishing process is performed in order to improve the surface roughness. When performing the finishing process, it is important that the phase of the unevenness in the circumferential direction of the male spline section and the phase in the circumferential direction of the cutting tool such as a shaping cutter, broach or the like precisely match. When the shift in the phases in the circumferential direction of the male spline and cutting tool is large, there is a possibility that the thickness in the circumferential direction of the coating layer becomes uneven.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, in order to align the phases in the circumferential direction of the male spline section and cutting tool, the overall length of the male spline section 14a can be made to be long, and the male spline section 14a can be provided up to the portion where there is no engagement with the female spline section 16 of the outer shaft 17. In other words, when performing the finishing process after a resin layer has been formed on the tip-end section and intermediate section (sections other than the portion near the base-end section) of the outer-circumferential surface of the male spline section 14a, the phases in the circumferential direction of the male spline section 14a and the cutting tool are aligned by the portion near the base-end section of the male spline section 14a that is not covered by the resin layer. As a result, it is possible to form a synthetic resin coating layer 19 that has a uniform thickness and good surface roughness on the outer-circumferential surface of the portion of the male spline section 14a except for the portion near the base end. However, in the construction illustrated in FIG. 11, the male spline section 14a is provided up to a portion where there is no engagement with the female spline section 16, so the weight of the inner shaft 15a increases.
JP 2011-173464 (A) discloses technology in which a tapered section is provided on the tip-end section of the male spline teeth of the male spline section so that the thickness and depth of the male spline teeth become smaller going toward the tip-end edge, and the spline shaft having this kind of male spline section is pushed inside the broach in a state in which relative rotation in the circumferential direction is possible, after which a finishing process is performed on the resin layer. In this case, the male spline section is guided by engagement between the tapered section and the uneven section that is formed on the inner-circumferential surface of the broach, and it is possible to align the phases in the circumferential direction of the uneven section in the circumferential direction of the male spline section and the uneven section that is formed on the inner-circumferential surface of the broach. However, alignment of the phases in the circumferential direction of the male spline section and broach is performed by using the tapered sections in a state in which a resin layer has been formed on the outer-circumferential surface of the tapered section of the male spline section, so there is a possibility that this phase alignment will not be performed precisely. Moreover, the tapered section of the male spline section does not engage with the female spline section after completion and is essentially an unnecessary portion, so the weight of the inner shaft further increases by the amount where the tapered section is formed.

Inner shaft for extendable and contractible shaft and manufacturing method thereof


A method of putting a ball calls for a golfer to use only one hand (29′) or both hands to grasp a putter (10′). The golfer grasps a grip (12′) of the putter (10) with one hand so that the proximal end of the grip extends above his wrist (25′) in one embodiment, and to or above his elbow (29′c) in another embodiment. In both embodiments the proximal bears against the arm associated with this one hand (29′). The golfer stands upright to one side of a target line (14′a), with his body facing in the same general direction as the target line and both his feet (35′, 36′) on the side of the target line and pointing in the same general direction as the target line (14′a) and positioned nearby the ball (15′). Most of his body is on the one side of the target line (14′a) and the arm (29′a) from which the hand extends is the arm (29′a) furthest from the target line (14′a).

Golf originated over four hundred years ago. Since then many changes have occurred in golf equipment, balls, swing methods, golf course design, construction and maintenance.
Golf is said to be two separate and distinct games played on the same course. In the first game, a ball is hit into the air for distances up to several hundred yards, herein called a "full shot". In the second, the putt, a ball is hit to roll over the surface of a green for distances from less than a foot to more than one hundred feet into a small hole on the green, herein called a "putt".
From the time of golf's origin to the present, golfers found the best swing to hit a full shot was to stand facing the ball on the ground at a right angle to the target with both hands holding the grip of the golf club, to rotate the body, use the major joints and muscles of the body to create leverage, to swing the arms back away from the ball and then to rotate the body and arms forward in an effort to cause the golf club to strike the ball into the air in the direction of the target and to a proper distance, herein referred to as the "traditional swing."
During the first few hundred years of golf the surfaces of greens were rough, bumpy and made of sand, crushed rock and seashells. It took considerable force to putt a ball over those surfaces. Golfers found that the best way to putt on those rough greens was to stand and address the ball in a manner similar to the traditional swing. Since the innovation of modern machinery and superior grass growing methods, greens are smoother and modern balls require much less force to putt balls across them. However, golfers, out of habit or maybe a lack of a better method, have continued to use a miniature version of the traditional swing to putt.
The full shot uses the human body differently than when the human body is used to putt. Briefly, the full shot requires considerable rotation of the body; the major joints of the body and arms open and close in precise timing to create leverage; the arms roll over and swing in a wide arc; the major muscle groups of the body and arms contract and relax extensively; the muscles expend considerable energy to create club speeds up to more than a hundred miles an hour; while the arc of the swing and direction of the club face is controlled by the golfer. Succinctly, the full shot requires both substantial power and control.
Although some golfers today use their wrists and/or arms to swing the putter, the majority of today's two-handed putting golfers putt by slowly rotating the upper body trunk to produce a short, shallow arc of the putter head. The golfer attempts to hold his hands, wrists, elbows and arms in an inactive position so as not to manipulate the putter head and putter face. He attempts to hold the major joints of the body, except for the slow, short arcing of the upper trunk, in the relative positions they were placed at the putting address. Body movement is kept to a minimum. Leverage of body joints is not only unnecessary, it is unwanted. The arms swing in a slow, shallow arc as a result of the short arc movement of the upper body trunk. The body's major muscles do not move, except for the slow, shallow, short movement of the upper trunk. The back and accessory muscles expend the energy, albeit small amounts, necessary to swing the putter. The putter head moves at relatively slow speeds. The arc of the swing and direction of the putter face is controlled by the golfer. This restricted putting movement can be seen almost weekly on the televised professional golf tournaments. Succinctly, a putt requires substantial control and little power.
It is obvious that a golfer must use his human body in the form it exists to hit a full shot or a putt. The human body is made for survival and living on earth. It was not made specifically to play golf, whether to execute a full shot or a putt. In fact, the human body is not well formed for the efficient and excellent execution of either golf method. Some of the sources of the human body's limitations and restrictions to the performance of golf are: its many bones, their shapes and their relative location of one to another; its many major and minor joints and their relative location of one to another, as well as their various capacities and limitations; its many muscles and their capacities, limitations and relative locations; its lack of capacity to execute the precise timing and coordination required by golf methods; the body's limitations for power and precise control over the golf club; and the body's limited ability to accurately sense the existence of the external environment and the influence that those external conditions will have on the body's ability to execute a golf swing and the movement of the ball after it is struck.
With few exceptions, golfers hold the putter grip with both hands when putting. There are various methods to hold the grip with two hands. Two-handed putting provides the golfer with more than enough power for putting. The two hands holding the grip provide the golfer with opposing holding forces that provide general (but not precise) physical control over the putter. However, the many bones, joints, muscles, etc., as referred to above, contained in the hands, arms and body, and their relative locations, create vectors of force on the putter grip from many directions which makes executing a precise controlled putting stroke difficult. A putting stroke consists of a backstroke, a forward stroke, and a follow-through stroke.
The traditional way for golfers to putt is to stand facing the ball on the ground at a right angle to the target line. In this position the golfer's head is also at about a right angle to the target line. He holds the grip of the putter with both hands in front of his body with the putter face aimed down the target line. Herein this traditional way is called a "traditional two-handed technique", "traditional two-handed method" or a "traditional two-handed putt". He looks down at the ball and putter face with the eyes in a frontal, level viewing position. Before putting, golfers usually look over the line of the putt over which the ball will roll in order to determine the contour of the surface. However, after addressing the ball with his body and eyes at right angles to the target line, the golfer rotates his head to the left and looks out of the sides of his eyes to observe the distance, the direction of the hole and the contours of the surface of the green. From this side angle viewing position, the golfer attempts to judge the distance from the ball to the hole, the direction the ball needs to be hit, and the amount of force required to 'sink' the ball into the hole. The golfer then returns his visual focus to the ball and putter face in an attempt to correctly aim the putter face, judge the distance to the hole and estimate the amount of force needed to hit the ball to the hole as he remembers from previous observations. He does this with his body, head and eyes at right angles to the target line.
Traditional two-handed putting, as described above, is complicated and difficult. It limits and restricts successful putting results even for those golfers with exceptional talent, gifted coordination and those who diligently practice.
Some golfers have attempted to putt while holding the grip with only one hand. One hand is sufficient to provide enough power for putting. However, the limitation of having only one force on the grip, (as compared to two opposing forces using a two-handed method), substantially limits the golfer's control over the putter and the orientation of the putter face. For these reasons and others, very few golfers who try one-handed putting methods continue to putt one-handed.
Putting requires golfers to exercise precise and consistent movement, or restraint of movement, of multiple muscles and parts of the body, arms, wrists and hands. Such multiple use and restraint of use of body parts frequently produce inconsistent and inaccurate results in the inherently difficult performance of putting. It is common during the putting swing, that various muscles, joints and body parts will change positions, and/or the muscles and body parts will be activated at different relative times, and/or the muscles and body parts may work against, conflict or oppose one another, or any combination of the above. The end results are inconsistent and inaccurate putts. The movement of so many parts of the body in various combinations and timings is one of the major reasons golfers experience frustration, anxiety and failure in their putting. One only needs to observe golfers on a putting green to see the unsuccessful attempts made to control the putting stroke, the orientation of the putter face and the line of putt of the ball.
Golf is a game or a sport that functions under specific sets of rules and regulations established and published by old and traditional associations that act as stewards for the maintenance of codes by which its participants may play and compete within rules and regulations that are uniform, fair, equitable and enhance the enjoyment of the game by its participants. When a new putting method and putter are created for use on a golf course, the inventor must take those rules and regulations in consideration in the development and creation of that putting method and putter.
From the beginning of the research and development of this invention and considering all of the above information, the goals of this invention were and are to create a putting method that: (1) provides adequate power, (2) increases the general and precise control over the putter and the putting stroke, (3) improves putting accuracy and consistency, (4) compliments the performance of the parts of the human body and their functions with the putting method, rather than conflicting or inhibiting them, (5) reduces the competing forces of the joints, bones, muscles, etc. that exert their forces on the body, the putter and the movement of the putter; (6) simplifies the putting process, (7) improves the ability of golfers to be aware of and use their sensory capacities, including accurate visual and tactile data, in the performance of putting, (8) comply with the rules and regulations established by the governing associations that are the authorities and stewards of the rules and regulations of golf, and (9) by wholly or partially achieving these goals, increase the golfing public's sense of enjoyment of the game of golf.


This invention is to provide a photovoltaic element capable of improving the production yield in the manufacturing process and the reliability such as the weather resistance and the durability, while also improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency by the light enclosing effect. For attaining such object, the photovoltaic element is featured by a fact that the transparent conductive layer, positioned between the substrate and the semiconductor layers, is provided, at a face in contact with the semiconductor layers, with a fractal structure of a fractal dimension D within a range of 1.01.ltoreq.D.ltoreq.1.20 at least within a dimensional range from 40 to 400 nm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photovoltaic element capable of improving the photoelectric converting efficiency by a light enclosing effect, while improving also the yield in the manufacture, the weather resistance and the durability.
2. Related Background Art
There is already known a technology of forming, on a side of the photovoltaic element opposite to the light entrance side, a reflective layer composed of a metal film of high reflectance such as Ag, Al, Cu or Au. This technology serves to reflect the light, transmitted by the carrier-generating semiconductor layer, to stimulate the absorption again in the semiconductor layer, thereby increasing the light absorption in the thin semiconductor layer, thus increasing the output current and improving the photoelectric converting efficiency.
Also a transparent conductive layer may be provided between the rear electrode and the semiconductor layer to provide the following effects:
(1) improving flatness of the rear electrode, improving adhesion of the semiconductor layer and/or preventing alloy formation between the metal of the rear electrode and that of the semiconductor layer (cf. Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 59-43101, (Fuji Electric Mfg. Co. and 60-41878 Sharp Corp.); PA1 (2) decreasing the current in the defect area of the semiconductor layer (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-84888, Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.); and PA1 (3) increasing the sensitivity in the long-wavelength region within the spectral sensitivity range of the solar cell (Y. Hamanaka et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 43(1983) p. 644).
It is also known to form, on the rear electrode, a light-scattering texture in the order of wavelength of the scattered light, thereby scattering the long-wavelength light that cannot be absorbed in the semiconductor layer and extending the optical path length in the semiconductor layer, thereby improving the long-wavelength sensitivity of the photovoltaic element, increasing the short-circuit current and improving the photoelectric converting efficiency (T. Tiedje et al., Proc. 16th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conf. (1982) p. 1423, H. Deckman et al., Proc. 16th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conf. (1982) p. 1425).
By combining these technologies, an optimum configuration is considered to be provided with a metal film, serving as the rear reflective layer and also as the rear electrode, having a light-scattering surface texture in the order of the wavelength of the light and also having a high reflectivity, and also with a transparent conductive layer positioned between the rear reflective layer and the semiconductor layer.
FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a conventional photovoltaic element, wherein provided in succession, on a substrate 201, are a transparent conductive layer 202, a semiconductor pin junction 203-205, a transparent electrode 206 and a current-collecting electrode 207. In another configuration shown in FIG. 2B, a metal layer 208 is provided between the substrate 201 and the transparent conductive layer 202.
However the manufacture of the photovoltaic element with the transparent conductive layer and the metal layer of the prior art has resulted in certain drawbacks in terms of process efficiency and durability.
In case of forming the semiconductor layer on a surface having pyramidal texture (cf. Tiedje et al., Proc. 16th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conf. (1982) p. 423), a stress is generated at the pyramidal vertexes, inducing the formation of a defect in the semiconductor layer. Also upon voltage generation, the electric field is concentrated at the pyramidal vertexes to increase the leak current of the photovoltaic element through the defect or the like of the semiconductor layer, whereby the production yield of the photovoltaic element is deteriorated.
Also the semiconductor layer formed on the surface having pyramidal texture shows a stronger electric field at the pyramidal vertexes in comparison with the semiconductor layer formed on a flat surface, and the resulting uneven electric field tends to deteriorate the open-circuit voltage (Voc) and the fill factor (FF) of the photovoltaic element, in comparison with that formed on the surface of a flat substrate.
Also the photovoltaic element may show increases in the photodeterioration (deterioration of the element characteristics by prolonged light irradiation) and deterioration by vibration (deterioration of the element characteristics by prolonged vibration). The photodeterioration of the photovoltaic element is assumed to result from cleavage of weak bonds by the light energy, constituting recombination centers for the photoinduced carries and thus deteriorating the characteristics of the element. Also the deterioration of the photovoltaic element by vibration is assumed to result from cleavage of weak bonds by the vibrational energy, constituting recombination centers for the photoinduced carries and thus deteriorating the characteristics of the element. Such weak bonds are considered to be localized in the area where a stress is generated.
Also when Ag or Cu is employed in the rear reflective metal layer, it has been found, if the humidity is high and a positive bias voltage is applied to the rear reflective metal layer, that Ag or Cu migrates to form conductive tracts to the electrode at the light entrance side, inducing shunt or short-circuiting of the photovoltaic element. Such a phenomenon is particularly conspicuous in case the rear reflective metal layer has a surface texture in the order of the wavelength of the light.
On the other hand, the rear electrode formed flat is associated with drawbacks of insufficient light absorption in the semiconductor layer because of the limited light scattering at the rear side and of insufficient adhesion between the substrate and the rear reflective layer, depending on the combination of the materials constituting the substrate and the rear electrode, eventually leading to the peeling of the rear reflective layer from the substrate in the post-working steps of the photovoltaic element.
Furthermore, in a post-working step for eliminating the electrical shunt in the defect area, in case of a surface with pyramidal vertexes, the reaction may proceed excessively at the vertex of the isolated steep pyramid, thus causing damage to the defect-free area. In such substrate, this fact limits the range of condition setting in the above-mentioned step of eliminating the electrical shunt in the defect area. Consequently this fact necessitates stricter control of the production process, thus deteriorating the productivity.
The above-mentioned drawbacks become particularly conspicuous when the production process is designed for lost cost for realizing practical use of the photovoltaic elements, such as the use of an inexpensive substrate such as a resinous film or a stainless steel plate, or of a higher formation speed of the semiconductor layer, and are factors deteriorating the production yield of the photovoltaic elements.

Photovoltaic element having a transparent conductive layer with specified fractal dimension and fractal property


A pipeline plug is disclosed wherein the rear portion of the plug is axially movable relative to the body of the plug and is provided with pipeline engaging drag inducing members. While the plug is propelled by the pipeline fluid flow, the dragging effect maintains the rear portion at its rearmost extreme. When the plug reaches its determined position in the pipeline, the reversal of flow in the pipeline is resisted by the drag means with the resulting shift of the rear portion forwardly of the plug, triggering the locking of the plug in place and subsequent expansion of the seals of the plug, all caused solely by the pressure differential generated in the pipeline to be worked upon.

This invention relates to the art of pipeline pigs or pipeline packers. Pipeline pigs are used in isolating a predetermined section of a pipeline from the fluid of the pipeline in order to enable repairs, connecting or other maintenance or installation tasks which cannot be done while the medium flows through the respective pipeline.
Various types of pipeline pigs are known in the art. One of the required features of the pipelines is that they be provided with suitable gripping means which would firmly engage the inside wall of a pipeline. To this end, a number of different mechanisms is known utilizing hydraulic power combined with a toggle mechanism and many other ways of securing a firm engagement. Viewed from the standpoint of the present invention, the known pipeline pigs are of complex structure and require additional sources of power for achieving different operational states.
It is an object of the present invention to advance the art by providing a relatively simple structure of a pipeline pig which is capable of being displaced along and locked inside a pipeline solely by utilizing the flow and pressure differentials of the medium inside the pipeline.


Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and method for processing a substrate with increased uniformity. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate. The apparatus comprises a chamber body defining a processing volume, a substrate support disposed in the processing volume, a showerhead disposed in the processing volume opposite to the substrate support, and a plasma generation assembly configured to ignite a plasma from the processing gases in the processing gas in the processing volume. The showerhead is configured to provide one or more processing gases to the processing volume. The showerhead has two or more distribution zones each independently controllable.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to method and apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide method and apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate with improved uniformity.
2. Description of the Related Art
When processing substrates in a plasma environment, the uniformity of the plasma will affect the uniformity of processing. For example, in an etching process, more material is likely to be removed or etched from the substrate near the center of the substrate as compared to the edge of the substrate when plasma of the processing gases is greater in the area of the chamber corresponding to the center of the substrate. Similarly, if the plasma is greater in the area of the chamber corresponding to the edge of the substrate, more material may be removed or etched from the substrate at the edge of the substrate compared to the center of the substrate
Non-uniformity in plasma processes can significantly decrease device performance and lead to waste because the deposited layer or etched portion is not consistent across the substrate.
Excellent process uniformity has become increasingly important as semiconductor devices become continuously more complex. Uniformity is important in both the feature-scale (<1 micron) and the wafer-scale (300 mm). Non-uniformities arise from a variety of reasons, for example variation of concentration of different ingredients of a processing gas, such as etching and passivating species, ion bombardment flux and energy, and temperature within the feature profile and across the wafer.
One of the non-uniformities observed is CD (critical dimension) bias edge roll-off. CD bias refers to the difference between the critical dimension of a feature before and after processing. CD bias edge roll-off refers to decrease of CD bias toward an edge of a substrate compared to CD bias near a central region of the substrate.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a CD bias edge roll-off of a hard mask etching process in a gate etching application. FIG. 1 demonstrates a critical dimension from bottom measurement of isolated features across a radius of a substrate after etching. The x-axis of FIG. 1 indicates a distance from the center of the substrate, and the y-axis indicates a critical dimension measurement. The CD bias edge roll-off is obvious from the decrease of the critical dimension measurement from 110 mm to 150 mm, i.e. towards the edge of the substrate. Additionally, FIG. 1 also illustrates non-uniformity near a center of the substrate where the critical dimension measurements are lower than a middle section of the substrate.
Traditionally, non-uniformity during etch, such as the CD bias edge roll-off shown in FIG. 1, is controlled by maintaining a temperature gradient across the substrate using heaters in the substrate support. However, in most applications, adjusting the substrate temperature gradient is still an inadequate method to tune the CD bias edge roll-off.
Therefore, there is a need for apparatus and method for processing a semiconductor substrate with reduced CD bias edge roll-off and other non-uniformity.

Method to control uniformity using tri-zone showerhead