According to a broad aspect of the invention, an apparatus (34) for decoding a Manchester encoded data stream is provided. The apparatus includes a transition detector (45) for receiving the Manchester encoded data stream to produce a transition indicating output when a transition of the Manchester encoded data stream is detected. Also, a circuit (105) is provided to generate an output control pulse a predetermined time after the transition indicating output is produced. A sampling flip-flop (120) receives the Manchester encoded data stream, and is controlled by the output control pulse to output a state of the Manchester encoded data to an output control circuit (125) when the output control pulse is generated. In a preferred embodiment, the sampling flip-flop (125) operates to generate a binary NRZ form of the Manchester encoded data stream. The transition detector (45) may be configured to synchronize the transition indicating output with a pulse of a clock pulse stream, and also may include a phase selector to select either the first or second symbol of the Manchester data to the output of the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatuses for decoding noisy, intermittent data, such as Manchester encoded data, or the like, and additionally relates to methods and circuits having multiple modes of operation depending upon the data signal that is received.
2. Relevant Background
Manchester encoded data is useful for reliably transmitting telemetry and other types of data. Typically, for example, a Manchester encoded data stream may be generated from an encoded telemetry data stream, which may be, for example, a binary nonreturn-to-zero (BNRZ) encoded signal (or data stream encoded by another similar technique), known in the art. Upon receiving the Manchester encoded signal, the signal is decoded to recover the original BNRZ encoded signal. One of the problems inherent in data transmission by any means, especially via radio frequency transmissions, is that the signal becomes noisy, accumulating static, or other rf signals or noise. This makes decoding the Manchester signal difficult to reliably perform.
Manchester encoding, which is widely used in data transmission and telemetry fields, defines data states of the signal to be encoded by the direction of midpoint transitions in an encoding signal, which will become the Manchester encoded data stream. The Manchester encoded data stream has time sequential "cells" of equal duration. At the midpoint of each cell, the data changes state in a direction that indicates the state of the signal to be encoded.
Thus, for example, a transition from a high to low logic state indicates that the signal to be encoded is in a logic low state. On the other hand, a transition from a low to high logic state indicates that the signal to be encoded is in a logic high state. Of course, at the end points of each cell, the state of the signal that will form the Manchester encoded data stream must be set up or established to enable the next midpoint transition. Thus, if a logic zero is to be encoded, the signal that will form the Manchester encoded data stream must be in an initial logic high state so that the midpoint transition from high to low can be realized. Alternatively, if a logic one is to be encoded, the signal that will form the Manchester encoded data stream must be in an initial logic low state so that the midpoint transition from low to high can be realized.
It can therefore be seen that if a series of logic states that are the same are encoded, the resulting Manchester encoded signal will be a square wave of period equal to the length of the cell. On the other hand, if a series of alternate logic ones and zeros are to be encoded, the resulting Manchester encoded signal will be a square wave of period equal to twice the length of the cell.
Various methods for decoding Manchester encoded data have been proposed. One popular technique is to use a phase locked loop circuit. In practice, however, sometimes a Manchester encoded signal is formatted to provide a "wake up" sequence, such as ten data cells, followed by a short dead time, followed by the actual data. Since the wake up sequence is so short, only 10 data cells, the circuit might not lock and might drift during the short dead time. Thus, the commonly used phase locked loop decoding technique cannot be used.
Other decoding techniques employ analog and digital matched filters, integrate and dump schemes, and highly over sampled digital signal processing techniques. Long synchronization time and high component count preclude the use of most of these schemes.
One method that has been proposed employs a gating circuit that responds to the mid-cell transitions in a Manchester encoded waveform to produce an enabling signal. The enabling signal causes a clock circuit to generate high frequency clock pulses, which are accumulated in a programmable counter. If the counter exceeds a clock count threshold before the beginning of the following enabling signal, a storage element is caused to sample and store the encoded waveform.

Method and apparatus for decoding noisy, intermittent data, such as manchester encoded data or the like


An integrated circuit device includes an amplifier circuit that generates an output voltage. A bias control circuit is configured to generate a bias control voltage or the output voltage at an output thereof based on a state of a control signal. An output stage driver circuit that is responsive to the voltage generated at the output of the bias control circuit.

In general, an operational amplifier (OP-AMP) that has two or more stages uses a compensation capacitor to provide stability. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional source driver circuit 100 including an amplifier 110, a switch 120, and a load 130, which are configured as shown. The amplifier 110 amplifies an input and generates an output for the load 130 through the switch 120. The amplifier 110 may be designed to have a constant slew rate and stability within a particular frequency characteristic and phase characteristic. Thus, the amplifier 110 may be designed to drive the load 130. As the load 130 increases, the frequency and phase characteristics may worsen. Unfortunately, this may result in an increase in DC current consumption.

Integrated circuit devices having a control circuit for biasing an amplifier output stage and methods of operating the same


The invention relates to a rolling bearing equipped with a sealing device having a frame fixed to a first organ. The first organ has a downstream sector bearing a sealing element and presenting a U-shaped geometry formed of an axial bottom surrounded with an inner wall and an outer wall at its edges. The outer wall is extended by a deflector that separates, with the U-shaped geometry, the sealing chamber into an inner compartment and an outer compartment. The bearing also includes a wall fixed to second organ, which presents an outside section forming with the deflector a reduced sealing clearance between the outside opening of the chamber and the outer compartment. The deflector has an outer surface placed in the outer compartment and is slanted towards the opening at an angle β from 10° to 80° relative to a radial direction.

In particular, the invention applies to rolling bearings for motor vehicles and especially to wheel bearings. On an advantageous basis, a bearing under the invention enables mounting of a driving or non-driving wheel on a motor vehicle, one organ being rotary and including means for fixing the wheel, while the other organ is fixed and includes means for fixing it to a vehicle suspension element.
To prevent, on the one hand, leaks of lubricant present in the rolling area and, on the other hand, contamination of the area by outside pollutants, at least one side of the rolling area can be equipped with a sealing device.
In particular, the sealing device can include a frame fixed to a first organ and a wall fixed to the second organ, with the frame fitted with a dynamic sealing element that presents at least one lip placed in rubbing contact with a section of the wall.
To comply with increasingly severe sets of specifications covering seals, in particular for validation of wheel bearings by the motor vehicle manufacturers, this solution leads to major friction torque which, over and above its negative impact on the energy necessary for rotation of the bearing, leads to a high operating temperature level and hence premature wear of the rubbing lip.
Moreover, such wear is all the more rapid in that pollutants can enter at the level of the rubbing section and stay there during rotation.
To attempt to solve this problem, it is possible to propose adding deflectors to form an entry chicane that is arranged in such a way as to limit exchanges between the rolling area and the outside, in particular at the level of the rubbing section.
In particular, document WO-2018/192597 provides for a rolling bearing in which at least one side of the rolling area presents an annular chamber in communication with the outside via an opening, with the bearing being fitted with a sealing device as set out above, in which:                The frame presents a downstream sector placed in the chamber, forming on either side an inner compartment, with which the opening communicates, and an outer compartment in communication with the rolling area and in which is placed at least one rubbing lip, with the downstream sector having a U-shaped geometry whose outside wall forms a deflector that extends into the chamber while separating with the U-shaped geometry the inner and outer compartments;        The sealing wall presents an outside section that borders the chamber over an axial depth from the opening, forming with the deflector a reduced sealing clearance between the opening and the outer compartment.
Thus the risk of penetration of outside pollutants into the rolling area is limited thanks to:                A deflector to form an obstacle to entry of the pollutants into the outer compartment in which the rubbing lip is placed; and        Formation upstream from the deflector of a U-shaped inner compartment of a suitable size to recover the outside pollutants entering via the opening, with the possibility of emptying the inner compartment by gravity without polluting the outer compartment.
However, this solution is not entirely satisfactory, in that the deflector presents a geometry which, in the event of entry of pollutants into the outer compartment, makes their gravity extraction difficult and hence leads to permanent pollution of the rubbing section.
The invention is aimed at perfecting prior art by proposing in particular a rolling bearing equipped with a sealing device whose sealing interface is optimised, in particular by being arranged in such a way as to facilitate gravity extraction of potential pollutants entered in the interface.
For this purpose, the invention proposes a rolling bearing that includes two organs and rolling elements placed in a rolling area formed between the organs to enable their relative rotation around an axis, with at least one side of the rolling area presenting an annular chamber in communication with the outside via an opening, and with the bearing being equipped with a sealing device including:                A frame fixed to a first organ, with the frame presenting a downstream sector placed in the chamber, forming on each side an inner compartment and an outer compartment, with the downstream sector bearing a sealing element and presenting a U-shaped geometry formed of a sensibly axial bottom surrounded at its edges by two walls—inner and outer respectively—each presenting a radial height, with the outer wall being extended by a deflector of the sealing element that extends into the chamber while separating the inner and outer compartments with the U-shaped geometry;        A wall fixed to the second organ, the wall presenting an outside section that borders the chamber over an axial depth from the opening, forming with the deflector a reduced sealing clearance between the opening and the outer compartment,the deflector presenting an outer surface placed in the outer compartment, with the outer surface being slanted towards the opening at an angle β lying between 10° and 80° relative to with a radial direction.


An oil pump for a compressor is provided. The oil pump includes a pump body, a driving shaft coupled to the pump body, with a supply passage extending therethrough, and a plurality of pumping members which rotate with the driving shaft. Fluids such as oil are inhaled into the pump through various intakes, and the inhaled oil is directed towards the driving shaft, where the oil is supplied to the friction parts of the compressor for lubrication. The plurality of intakes into the pump provide for a continuous supply of oil to the friction parts.

1. Field
This relates to a compressor, and more particularly, to an oil pump for a compressor.
2. Background
In general, a compressor converts mechanical energy into compressive force. Compressors may be categorized into a reciprocating type, a scroll type, a centrifugal type and a vane type. Scroll compressors are commonly used in air conditioning and refrigeration applications. Scroll compressors may be further divided into a low-pressure type scroll compressor and a high-pressure type scroll compressor based on whether the inner part of the casing is filled with a suction gas or a discharge gas.


To increase the user friendliness of the project planning software (6), it is proposed that information (12, 13, 14, 15) about the applicability of project planning (8) to the operating device (1) be provided, such that the information (12, 13, 14, 15) is recorded directly within the framework of an operating interface of project planning software.

Operating devices in the form of HMI devices are typically used for visualization and setting of the control variables relevant to the operation of the automation components. HMI devices can for example be HMI display panels, also referred to for short as HMI panels, control panels or also operator panels. An HMI device as a rule comprises a control unit as well as a display unit, for example an LCD display. The control unit comprises for example a central processing unit (CPU) and further components, for example Random Access Memory (RAM) which are connected to a data bus, for example a CPU address and data bus. The HM interface, especially the operating images and their links, is stored in the memory of the control unit here.
Each operating device has a distinct specific hardware configuration. Thus there are operating devices with touchscreens and those with integrated keyboard, operating devices with a color or black and white display etc. In addition each operating device has a specific memory size.
HM interfaces for operating devices are created in what is known as a Configuration System (CS). To this end specific project planning software is run on a host computer, for example a standard PC. After completion of project planning this is transmitted to the operating device.
Displaying the memory requirement of a piece of software is known from the prior art. Thus for example the "SIMATIC HMI, ProTool V6.0, Service Pack 2, Project Planning Windows-based Systems" (order number 6AV6594-1MA06-1AAO) describes the option of displaying the memory requirement for a project as project information after transfer into flash memory of the operating device.
In addition WO 02/101596 A2 describes a method for supporting project planning of manufacturing systems in which a digital model of a manufacturing system containing objects is embedded into a simulation environment. This enables all the information needed for the simulation environment to be provided for simulation.

Method and device for creating project planning for an operating device of an automation component


A material property measuring apparatus includes a radiation source irradiator configured to irradiate a measurement target material with radiation beams having n different wavelengths, a detector configured to detect intensities of radiation beams having the respective wavelengths after the irradiation of the measurement target material, and a processing unit configured to correct the detected intensity of the radiation beam having at least a part of the respective wavelengths using a correction coefficient in which rows and columns are respectively represented by a matrix of an order of n or less, and to calculate an index value indicating a property of the measurement target material on the basis of relative intensities of the radiation beams having the respective wavelengths after the correction.

In a paper making process of manufacturing paper continuously, it is important to control the water content. This necessitates a water content measuring apparatus for measuring, online, the water content of paper that is being moved in a paper making line. Among several types of water content measuring apparatus that have been put into practice, an infrared water content measuring apparatus using near infrared light is used widely as an online water content measuring apparatus.
In infrared water content measuring apparatus, radiation having such a wavelength as to be absorbed by water and not to be absorbed by cellulose which is the main component of paper and radiation having such a wavelength as to be absorbed by cellulose and not to be absorbed by water are caused to pass through a paper as a measurement target. A water content of the paper is calculated on the basis of an intensity ratio between radiation beams having the respective wavelengths measured by a radiation receiver. Reference radiation having such a wavelength as to be absorbed by neither water nor cellulose may also be used to eliminate influences of radiation scattering by the paper, substances mixed in the paper, the basis weight, the ash content, the lignin content, colorants used, a coating, and other factors.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a related-art infrared water content measuring apparatus 40. As shown in FIG. 6, in the related-art infrared water content measuring apparatus 40, a halogen lamp 410 having a broad, continuous spectrum is generally used as a radiation source. Radiation emitted from the halogen lamp 410 is guided, via a projection lens 411, to band-pass filters 421 which are mounted on a filter wheel 420.
In the example of FIG. 6, three kinds of band-pass filters, that is, a band-pass filter 421a which transmits reference radiation having such a wavelength λa as to be absorbed by neither water nor cellulose, a band-pass filter 421b which transmits radiation having such a wavelength λb as to absorbed by water and not to absorbed by cellulose, and a band-pass filter 421c which transmits radiation having such a wavelength λc as to absorbed by cellulose and not to absorbed by water, are mounted on the filter wheel 420. However, there are other cases in which four or more band-pass filter 421 are used to produce plural reference radiation beams having different wavelengths.
Radiation beams having the respective wavelengths are output sequentially in accordance with rotation of the filter wheel 420. It is assumed that, as shown in a broken-like rectangle A, the radiation beam having the wavelength λa is output at time point t1, the radiation beam having the wavelength λb is output at time point t2 and the radiation beam having the wavelength λc, is output at time point t3. To prevent reduction of measurement accuracy due to inclusion of components having other wavelengths, each band-pass filter 421 is required to have a specification in which a half-value width of a spectrum of the output radiation beams is an extremely narrow.
Radiation that has passed through the band-pass filter 421 is applied onto paper 700 as a measurement target. To increase the sensitivity, the infrared water content measuring apparatus 40 is configured in such a manner that the paper 700 is interposed between a top reflector 431 having an entrance hole and a bottom reflector 432 having an exit hole so that radiation passes through, many times, the paper 700 which is moving in a paper making line.
Radiation that is output through the exit hole of the bottom reflector 432 is detected by a radiation receiver 440 such as a PbS cell and a resulting detection signal is amplified by an amplifier 441. As shown in a broken-line rectangle B, amplified detection signals are obtained in time-series at time points corresponding to time points of output of radiation beams from the respective band-pass filters 421. More specifically, a signal Va which is obtained at time point t1 corresponds to intensity of the radiation beam having the wavelength λa, a signal Vb which is obtained at time point t2 corresponds to intensity of the radiation beam having the wavelength λb, and a signal Vc which is obtained at time point t3 corresponds to intensity of the radiation beam having the wavelength λc.
The amplified detection signals are input to a processing unit 450, where an index value calculator 451 calculates an index value on the basis of an intensity ratio between the detection signals corresponding to the respective wavelengths. Then, a water content calculator 452 converts the index value into a water content by referring to a calibration curve 453 which was prepared in advance, and outputs information of the water content. The calibration curve 453 is data which correlates correct water contents measured by an electronic balance or the like with index values measured by the infrared water content measuring apparatus 40.


An electrode for hydrogen generation can maintain a low hydrogen overvoltage for a long period of time even when electrolysis is conducted there not only with a low current density but also with a high current density. The electrode for hydrogen generation has a coating layer formed on a conductive base member by applying a material not containing any chlorine atom prepared by dissolving lanthanum carboxylate in a nitric acid solution of ruthenium nitrate and thermally decomposing the material in an oxygen-containing atmosphere.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrode for hydrogen generation having a low hydrogen overvoltage to be used for electrolysis of aqueous solutions typically including brine.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is a very important challenge to reduce the energy consumption rate of electrolysis of brine. While the energy consumption rate of ion-exchange membrane electrolysis is relatively low if compared with other electrolytic processes, there is a demand for techniques that can further reduce the energy consumption rate of ion-exchange membrane electrolysis.
The power consumption rate of ion-exchange membrane electrolysis depends on various factors such as the structure of the electrolyzer including an anode, an ion-exchange membrane and a cathode. The particular object of the present invention is to reduce the energy consumption rate of electrolysis by reducing the hydrogen overvoltage at the electrode for hydrogen generation that operates as cathode.
Many proposals have already been made for electrodes for hydrogen generation to be used for electrolysis of aqueous solutions including brine. Such proposals include those for using an electrode having an electrode catalyst coating of nickel, cobalt, a platinum group metal or an oxide or an alloy of any of such metals formed on a metal base member.
Electrodes for hydrogen generation are required to show a low hydrogen overvoltage and additionally not to contaminate the ion-exchange membrane with the heavy metal eluted from the electrode catalyst coating formed on the surface of the electrode even when the electrode is operated in a state where an ion-exchange membrane and the electrode for hydrogen generation are held in contact with each other. Still additionally, the ion-exchange membrane is required to be undamaged when it is brought into contact with the surface of the electrode catalyst layer.
WO2003/078694 proposes to form a coating layer of an electrode catalyst by applying a mixture of ruthenium chloride, cerium chloride and oxalic acid to the surface of a conductive base member and thermally decomposing it.
When forming an electrode catalyst layer by thermally decomposition it is a common practice to use a substance whose metal component shows a high solubility and that is decomposed by thermally decomposition and volatilized so as not to remain in the electrode catalyst layer for the solution containing the metal compound that is to be applied onto the conductive base member. In the case of using a platinum group metal compound, it is a common practice to utilize a hydrochloric acid solution of chloride of the metal. However, no attention has been paid to date to the type of the salt of the metal compound.
For example, according to the above-cited WO2003/078694, ruthenium chloride and cerium oxalate are introduced into the electrode catalyst coating layer of the electrode for hydrogen generation respectively as ruthenium and cerium. However, the fall of the electric potential is not satisfactory for electrolysis with a high electric current density.
Thus, it is the object of the present invention to provide an electrode for hydrogen generation that can maintain a low hydrogen overvoltage for a long period of time in electrolysis using a high current density and is highly catalysis-active relative to hydrogen generation reactions, while it can satisfactorily prevent the ion-exchange membrane from being contaminated by the eluted heavy metal even when the ion-exchange membrane is brought into contact with the cathode in the electrolyzer and excellently shows a uniform current distribution on the electrode surface.

Electrode for hydrogen generation and process for preparation thereof


There is provided an aqueous pigment dispersion for a light-shielding paper comprising a pigment component, an aqueous resin and water, wherein the pigment component contains 2 to 50% by weight of graphite in which at least 80% of the total number of particles thereof has the maximum diameter of 1 to 30 .mu.m, 2 to 60% by weight of a colored pigment, and 10 to 90% by weight of a white pigment, and each specific gravity of the colored pigment and the white pigment is 2.0 to 6.0 g/cm.sup.3. The pigment dispersion of the present invention can provide light-shielding properties by rendering coating onto a paper base material and also can provide a light-shielding paper which facilitates recycling and has a high quality when recycling of waste paper is effected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aqueous pigment dispersion which can impart light-shielding properties to a paper base material for wrapping photosensitive materials, foods, phamaceuticals, and the like by coating or printing the dispersion onto the base material and which provides a light-shielding paper which facilitates recycling of waste paper.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a paper base material having light-shielding properties for wrapping a photosensitive material and other materials to be protected from the action of light, which may degenerate due to the action of light, there conventionally exist two typical processes: one is the process in which an aluminum foil and polyolefin resin film are laminated on a base paper; and the other is the process in which polyolefin resin containing carbon black used as a light-shielding pigment is laminated on a base paper or polyolefin resin is laminated on a black base paper into which carbon black is incorporated. However, when these materials are used, maceration properties and separating properties of paper fibers and pigments are extremely deteriorated (at the time of recycling of waste paper), recycling of waste paper is difficult, and these paper materials must be incinerated or buried under the ground as industrial wastes.
As a paper material in which the above-described drawbacks are improved and light-shielding properties and separation properties are both excellent, and a process for manufacturing the paper material, there have been proposed the following: a process in which a mixture of acrylic resin emulsion and wax-type emulsion is applied to a base paper into which inorganic pigments such as carbon black is incorporated or to a base paper surface on which a coating layer of inorganic pigments such as carbon black or a deposit layer such as aluminum is provided (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 6-184987); a process in which a light-shielding layer containing, as main components, inorganic pigments such as carbon black, aluminum paste, or the like, and a moisture barrier layer containing acrylic resin emulsion and wax-type emulsion are provided on a paper base material (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-82691), and the like. However, although the paper base materials having light-shielding properties, manufactured by these processes, each exhibit maceration properties in which base paper is easily macerated into fibers, these materials do not exhibit sufficient recycling properties in a case that these materials are collected as waste paper to be recycled. For this reason, these materials are impractical for recycling purposes.
When carbon black is used, carbon black cannot be removed unless a deinking process is used. For this reason, in most of common corrugated fiberboard manuracturers in which the deinking process cannot be effected, carbon black appears on a surface of a recycled paper and the commercial value of the recycled paper deteriorates. As a result, practical recycling of such papers cannot be achieved. Further, when aluminum paste is used, aluminum powder cannot be removed even in the deinking process and contamination with the aluminum powder cannot be prevented. For this reason, in this case as well, recycling cannot be achieved.
As a conventional deinking process of waste paper, a flotation process in which ink particles are allowed to adhere to air bubbles, and are floated to be separated, a washing process to be effected by using an appropriate filtering/washing machine and using a combination of a surface active agent, and a decker machine or an inclined screen so that ink particles are stabilized in a washable state, and a combination process in which the flotation process and the washing process are used together are known. When the flotation process is used, high yield is obtained, and an amount of water consumed is less than or equal to a quarter of that in the case of the washing process due to circulating used of recycled water. As a result, the flotation process is superior to the washing method, but the paper obtained by using the flotation process is inferior in quality to that obtained by using the washing process. On the other hand, the washing process generally requires a washing-water purifying equipment, and also requires chemicals. As a result, the washing process is inferior to the flotation process in cost.
Further, since the surface of a paper with carbon black used is black, printing or character typing cannot be rendered thereon. In order to improve printing suitability, whitening processing must be effected for or a printable paper must be laminated onto the surface of the paper.
In addition, as a paper material in which the above-described drawbacks are improved and light-shielding properties, moisture-proof properties, and recycling suitability are excellent, and the process for manufacturing the paper material, there has been known a process in which a light-shielding layer containing, as principal components, yellow pigments such as benzidine yellow, and a moisture-proof layer containing wax-type emulsion and synthetic-rubber-type latex or a resin-type latex are provided on a paper base material (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-1676). The light-shielding properties obtained by this process is limited to light ranging from 250 to 500 nm which is the range of a photosensitive wavelength of a diazo-type photosensitive material required as a wrapping material of a PS (presensitized) printing plate, and do not allow shading of light whose wavelength is in a wide range from ultraviolet region to infrared region, the light being shaded by aluminum foil or carbon black.

Aqueous pigment dispersion for light-shielding paper


A semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus may include a clock-distributing unit, an internal circuit unit and an output-controlling unit. The clock-distributing unit may drive an input clock to output a distribution clock. The internal circuit unit may generate an internal circuit output signal in response to an input signal and the distribution clock. The output-controlling unit may select one of the input clock and the distribution clock in response to a clock selection signal and an output selection signal. The output-controlling unit may synchronize the internal circuit output signal with a clock selected between the input clock and the distribution clock or bypass the internal circuit output signal to output an output signal.

1. Technical Field
Various embodiments generally relate to a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus, and more particularly to a semiconductor apparatus.
2. Related Art
Demands for high-speed electronic systems have led to many advances in synchronous semiconductor integrated circuits using high-frequency clocks.
Further, demands for mobile electronic systems have led to many advances in highly integrated semiconductor devices.
To provide highly integrated semiconductor devices, manufacturers in the semiconductor industry have continually increased packaging density, which has led to the development of three-dimensional package. As the number of stacked semiconductor dies in the three-dimensional package increases, and as the widths of signal lines decrease, the signal load may increase.
A three-dimensional package having a plurality of stacked semiconductor dies may have an interconnection line having a narrow width and long length, which may cause the signal load at the interconnection line to increase.
As a result, the semiconductor integrated circuits may not output signals synchronized with the high-frequency clocks at predetermined times.

Semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus


A new and improved automobile locator apparatus includes a base member adapted to fit onto a top edge of an automobile window, an identifier element, and an adjustable assembly, connected between the base member and the identifier element, for orienting the identifier element with respect to the base member at a variety of selectable orientations. The adjustable orientation assembly includes a first element containing a first uneven surface connected to the base member and a second element containing a second uneven surface connected to the identifier element. A spring urges the first element and the second element together when a selected orientation of the identifier element with respect to the base member has been made. The identifier element may be an internally illuminated flat panel that employs fiber optics. Indicia are placed on top of the internally illuminated flat panel element to provide for specific identification information. A wire retractor may be located between the base member and a source of electrical power for winding wire from the base member and unwinding wire to the base member when the automobile window, to which the base member is fitted, is raised or lowered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for identifying automobiles, and more particularly, to a device especially adapted to effect locating a specific automobile among a large aggregation of automobiles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of commercial automobile identifiers are well known in the art, such as those placed on taxi cabs and food delivery vehicles. Although such commercial automobile identifiers identify an automobile as being one of a group of automobiles associated with a specific business, they do not identify a specific automobile belonging to a specific person.
There are also electronic automobile identifiers which employ a transmitter and a receiver which generally activates an automobile's headlights. Although use of such a system causes the headlights of a specific automobile of a specific person to be activated, activation of headlights does not allow for easy identification of a specific automobile especially in day time and especially in a busy area where many automobile headlights are lighted.
Additional automobile locators are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,540,406 of Dexter; 4,015,557 of Schulein; 4,964,360 of Henry; 4,976,410 of Tomaiuolo. These automobile locators provide individual automobile location markers which are generally in the form of a flag on a staff attached to the automobile body. Such flags are not readily visible at night time. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,037 of Candela discloses a mounting base for marine antennas.
Moreover, the individual automobile location markers disclosed in the patents cited above share another common characteristic. The flags all stand vertically when in use. This feature can pose a problem. If a number of flags for different automobiles all stand vertically, it may be difficult to differentiate one vertically standing flag from another. In this respect, it would be desirable if an individual automobile locator were provided which had an identifier element which did not necessarily stand vertically when used for automobile identification.
Among the individual automobile locators cited in the U.S. patents cited above, a number are disclosed as being attached to the automobile by being clipped onto the top edge of an automobile window. This is a very convenient way to attach an individual automobile locator to an automobile. However, it would be desirable improvement if an individual automobile locator were provided that clipped onto the top edge of a window, but did not necessarily stand vertically when used for automobile identification, and moreover, was readily visible at night.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use a flag on a staff attached to an automobile body to serve as an individual automobile location marker, the provision of a simple and cost effective device that is readily visible both in the day and the night is not contemplated. Nor does the prior art described above teach or suggest an individual automobile locator which has an identifier element which does not necessarily stand vertically when used for automobile identification. The foregoing disadvantages are overcome by the unique automobile locator apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.


A fracture structure is grown from a plurality of starting points. A fractal structure, grown from respective starting points and interconnected by interactive growths, forms a neural network. A growth speed originated at a specific starting point is determined by the probability of a material reaching a grown portion from a remote location by means of a diffusion process and the probability of a growth promoting factor reaching a grown portion by means of a diffusion process from a portion grown from a starting point other than the specific one. Anisotropy is introduced into a space in which a fractal structure is to be grown, as required.

Conventional Neuman computers have exercised their great power in computers configured to sequentially execute specific algorithms and have supported modern scientific technologies. In order to design CPU of such a computer, a complicated electronic circuit has to be produced and progressively optimized by executing its simulation. As its design tool, a CAD system for making a complicated electronic circuit is indispensable.
In recent years, information processing learning from brains, such as neural network model, has been widely researched with a hope of realization as exercising its power in pattern recognition. In case a neural network model is practically applied in form of a device, it is preferable to realize a network such as neural network of a brain in form of a certain system. Following such a plan, experiments are being conducted toward artificially making nerves for living bodies, and their future development is being expected.
Nerve cells of brains individually have complicated tree-like projections to form a fractal structure. Such fractal elements grow while interacting with each other, and make up a complicated brain neural network.
In order to simulate the function of a preferable network, a technique for creating such a brain neural network is indispensable. That is, there is a strong demand for a technique for making a complicated network, which corresponds to a CAD system that has been indispensable for conventional Neuman computers. However, there are no conventional techniques that make up a structure coupling a plurality of fractal elements while controlling their fractal nature.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for making a fractal structure, which can make a complicated network like a neural network easily in a well-controlled manner.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method for making a fractal structure, which can control the coupling mode among different fractal structures and can make complicated networks with a more variety of structures such as neural networks easily in a well-controlled manner.

Method of fabricating a fractal structure for constructing complex neural networks


A high emission intensity group-III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device obtained by eliminating crystal lattice mismatch with substrate crystal and using a gallium nitride phosphide-based light emitting structure having excellent crystallinity. A gallium nitride phosphide-based multilayer light-emitting structure is formed on a substrate via a boron-phosphide (BP)-based buffer layer. The boron phosphide-based buffer layer is preferably grown at a low temperature and rendered amorphous so as to eliminate the lattice mismatch with the substrate crystal. After the amorphous buffer layer is formed, it is gradually converted into a crystalline layer to fabricate a light-emitting device while keeping the lattice match with the gallium nitride phosphide-based light-emitting part.

A group-III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device that emits light in the blue or green band is composed of a multilayer structure where a gallium nitride (GaN) crystal layer as one constituent element is disposed, for example, on a sapphire (α-Al2O3) single crystal substrate using a growing technique, such as metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. The multilayer structure has a light-emitting part structure undertaking the function of emitting light. Conventionally, the light-emitting part structure in general takes a pn junction-type hetero structure constructed by a p-type or n-type clad layer consisting of a light-emitting layer formed of gallium indium nitride (GaYIn1−YN, wherein 0<Y≦1) and an aluminum gallium indium nitride (AlGaInN)-based crystal layer.
FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the construction of a conventional multilayer structure light-emitting device (LED) 100 having a pn junction-type double hetero (DH) junction light-emitting part structure 42 comprising an AlGaInN-base crystal layer. In a conventional multilayer structure, the light-emitting part structure 42 is composed of, for example, a lower clad layer 103 comprising an n-type aluminum gallium nitride (AlZGa1−ZN, wherein 0≦Z≦1) crystal layer, a light-emitting layer 104 comprising an n-type gallium indium nitride (GaYIn1−YN) and an upper clad layer 105 comprising a p-type aluminum gallium nitride (AlZGa1−ZN, wherein 0≦Z≦1) (see, JP-A-6-260682 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application")). The functional layers 103 to 105 constituting the light-emitting part structure 42 each is usually deposited with an intervention of a buffer layer formed at a temperature lower than the temperature at the formation of those functional layers, so-called a low-temperature buffer layer 102 (see, JP-A-4-297023). Furthermore, in a multilayer structure comprising a sapphire substrate 101 having; provided thereon a group-III nitride semiconductor crystal layer, the low-temperature buffer layer 102 is usually composed of aluminum gallium nitride (AlZGa1−ZN, wherein 0≦Z≦1) (see, JP-A-6-151962).
The low-temperature buffer layer 102 is provided mainly for the purpose of reducing the lattice mismatch between the sapphire substrate 101 and the lower clad layer 103 composed of AlZGa1−ZN crystal, thereby obtaining a good group-III nitride single crystal layer reduced in the density of crystal defects such as dislocation. Particularly, in a known conventional example, the low-temperature buffer layer 102 is composed of gallium nitride (GaN), the lower clad layer 103 is composed of a GaN layer formed at a high temperature in excess of the temperature for the formation of the low-temperature buffer layer 102, and the light-emitting layer 104 is composed of a gallium indium nitride mixed crystal phase (see, JP-A-6-216409).
Furthermore, in the conventional light-emitting device shown in FIG. 5, the substrate 101 is an insulating sapphire and therefore, a part of the lower clad layer 103 must be removed to provide an n-type ohmic electrode 107. A p-type ohmic electrode 106 is provided on the electrically conducting upper clad layer 105.
However, the mismatch between the sapphire substrate and the GaN layer constituting the low-temperature buffer layer is as high as about 13.8% (see, Nippon Kessho Seicho Gakkai Shi (Journal of Japan Crystal Growth Society), Vol. 15, Nos. 3 & 4, pp. 74–82 (Jan. 25, 1989)) and therefore, a continuous low-temperature buffer layer cannot be stably obtained at present. In the discontinuous portion partially present in the low-temperature buffer layer due to the lacking of film continuity, namely, in the region where the sapphire substrate surface is exposed, hexagonal GaN predominantly grows in the c-axis direction thereof. As a result, dislocation is generated starting from the coalescence of GaN columnar crystals, propagates to the GaInN light-emitting layer via the upper GaN layer and disadvantageously deteriorates the crystal quality of the light-emitting layer. In other words, according to the above-described conventional multilayer structure constructed by stacking a GaInN light-emitting layer on a GaN low-temperature buffer layer via a GaN layer, a good GaInN-type light-emitting layer film cannot be formed due to the propagation of crystal defects such as dislocation attributable to the discontinuity of the low-temperature buffer layer. Therefore, stable formation of a light-emitting part structure comprising a group-III nitride single crystal layer having excellent operation reliability or ensuring long device life cannot be attained particularly in the case of a laser diode (LD).
The present invention has been made by taking into account these problems in conventional techniques, and an object of the present invention is to provide a buffer layer having continuity capable of allowing homogeneous coating on the substrate surface and preventing generation of dislocations despite a large mismatch with the substrate crystal. Another object of the present invention includes providing a construction of a group-III nitride single crystal layer structure deposited on the above-described buffer layer, which is reduced in the density of crystal defects such as dislocation and favored with excellent crystallinity.

Group-III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device and production method thereof


A terahertz temporal and spatial resolution imaging system is provided. The system includes: a sample placing rack; a detection crystal, located on the exit side of the sample placing rack; a pump light generating device, for generating a pump light to irradiate the test sample; a terahertz light generating device, for generating a terahertz light to irradiate the test sample, irradiate the detection crystal after obtaining information about the test sample, and modulate an index ellipsoid of the detection crystal; a detection light generating device, for generating a detection light to irradiate the detection crystal to detect the index ellipsoid of the detection crystal, thereby indirectly obtaining the information about the test sample; and an imaging apparatus, located in an optical path after the detection light passes through the detection crystal, for collecting terahertz images of the test sample.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of optics, and in particular, to a terahertz temporal and spatial resolution imaging system, an imaging method and an application thereof.
2. Related Art
With development of semiconductor manufacturing processes and materials, electronic chips have a higher operation speed, a smaller area, and a lower cost. As phase transition of semiconductors with external excitation is determined by transport characteristics of carriers thereof, the study on the carrier transport phenomena is the foundation of semiconductor device research and development. The terahertz (referred to as THz) pulse technique, as a unique far-infrared measurement means, has demonstrated its significant application potential in the current scientific research and industrial detection. Especially in the study on the semiconductor carrier characteristics, as the terahertz pulse has a low photon energy, a narrow pulse width and other characteristics, which may not have a great impact on the carriers' concentration and transport and can achieve transient measurement, the terahertz time-resolved spectroscopy has become an indispensable research method in the semiconductor device research and development. FIG. 1 is a schematic optical view of the terahertz time-resolved spectroscopy used in the study on characteristics of carriers on semiconductors in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, a 800 nm near-infrared light I is used to pump semiconductor sample 101 and excite the light-induced characteristics thereof, then a terahertz pulse II interacts with the semiconductor sample 101, to carry sample transient information, and finally, a terahertz light II and a detection light III pass through a detection crystal 102; the terahertz pulse is measured via electro-optic sampling, to observe transient changes of the semiconductor. The terahertz measurement technique is coherent measurement, which can obtain amplitude and phase information of the spectrum simultaneously, so as to realize accurate analysis for semiconductor transient optical constants.
Owing to concentration gradient of the generated carriers on the semiconductor, horizontal and vertical diffusion may be formed. On one hand, during diffusion, the carriers may collide with each other for direct composite or interact with impurities contained in the semiconductor to form indirect composite. On the other hand, if there is an external electric field or a built-in electric field, the carriers may drift and may be scattered with the semiconductor ionized impurities and lattice vibrations. These processes will result in that the overall optical characteristics of semiconductors show unevenness. However, despite the traditional terahertz time-resolved spectroscopy has lots of advantages, due to its measurement constraints, it is necessary to focus the terahertz spot on one point on the sample for detection; thus, it only reflects the time-domain change characteristics of the carriers, but cannot exhibit the spatial distribution characteristics of the carriers caused by diffusion and drift phenomena.

Terahertz temporal and spatial resolution imaging system, imaging method and application thereof


A method and apparatus for the computerized management of a digital ecosystems through the creation and management of intelligent information packets that enable computerized management of the creation, flow, and use of electronic and optically scanned paper documents. An XML packet is structured to combine document data, comprising electronic or optically scanned documents, with rules, work-flow controls, audit capability, and signature controls. Tamper proofing ensures validity of information, such as legal documents, that requires proof and tracking of official origin, approval, or status.

The present invention relates generally to the management of a digital ecosystem through the creation and management of intelligent packets that enable computerized transactions using electronic and optically scanned paper documents. A lack of cultural, policy, process and technology interoperability and protected information sharing between organizations today has led to the failure of government institutions and business entities to enable efficient management of processes critical to their respective missions. Evidence of such lack of interoperability ranges from the infamous 9/11 attacks, where the intelligence institutions failed to identify and thwart terrorists, to relief efforts in the wake of hurricane Katrina, where the justice, education and healthcare institutions failed to adequately preserve and share records, to the day-to-day reality of American justice institutions at the federal and state levels routinely tolerating backlogs of millions of un-served federal, state and local arrest, search and bench warrants.
Even with the purported speed and virtually unlimited storage capacity of modern computers, networks, and the internet the "system" in its current state isn't working.
Information and transactions critical to public safety, homeland security, justice, education, healthcare, and other essential government institutions and services are routinely unavailable, delayed or lost due to a lack of interoperability between federal, state and local government jurisdictions and businesses on a number of levels. Business enterprises suffer a similarly lack of interoperability both internally and in relationships with suppliers, service providers, partners, distributors, and customers.
Succinctly stated, the problem is the inability to fluidly share critical information in real-time among government organizations at all levels and among appropriate business entities—while preserving the required levels of authority, security and privacy. Finding the proper balance between sharing critical information and maintaining the expected authority, privacy and security over that information is one of today's most pressing challenges.
The critical element that is lacking in harnessing modern computer power and networking connective to address these issues is a digital ecosystems that binds together government and business organizations into functional entities and digital ecosystem transactions that operate to bridge the gaps between these entities to allow them to function as a single, coherent system. Digital ecosystems and the digital ecosystem transactions that they can enable allow partners in government and business to act more quickly, assuredly, and decisively based on having the right information in the right context in order to make better decisions. In particular in justice, education, and healthcare ecosystems which affect the lives of virtually all men and women can benefit from the creation of ecosystems that enable these entities to act more quickly, assuredly, and decisively based on having the right information in the right context in order to make better decisions.
Efforts to find technical solutions to address the perceived need for a digital ecosystem have fallen short of the goal. In the past, developers have used object-oriented programming to enable more efficient programming and maintainability for such systems and have turned to hardware independent languages like JAVA. Subsequently, technology to facilitate communication among distributed objects across client-server lines has been enabled by the EnterpriseJavaBeans architecture.
However, there these technologies fall short of enabling a complete ecosystem in which disparate systems may work together effectively and transparently. Accordingly, government and business systems are leverageing the power of the Extended Markup Language (XML) protocol for process communication and data transmission between clients and servers and among servers. Thus, there is a need a clear need for a digital ecosystem architecture that can provide not only platform independence, but that accommodates highly abstracted metadata process for including user both electronic and historical paper-based documents through their creation, flow, approval, and retention cycles.
The current invention describes a unique technology platform that enables digital ecosystems and delivers digital ecosystem transactions to users in government and business.

Method and apparatus for creation and management of intelligent packets


A stackable container for seasonings which comprises a hollow cylinder having an integral top wall and an integral bottom wall. An integral upwardly extending tubular mouth member of reduced diameter is formed on the top wall and centrally located on the top wall coaxial with the cylinder. The bottom wall has an upwardly extending centrally located circular well coaxial with the cylinder. The well has a selected diameter to receive the tubular mouth of a like container to enable the containers to be stacked over one another in a stable tier.

The present invention is directed to a container for seasonings such as salt, pepper, spices, and the like. The container is constructed so that it can be stacked in an interlocking relationship with other like containers in a stable tier. The construction is such that the individual containers are able to maintain their interlocked relationship even when the tier is lifted up from the supporting surface and held in an inclined position.
Conventional containers for seasonings are usually formed of a hollow body having a mouth at the top of the body, and having a cover removably mounted on the mouth. It is essential that the cover be positioned on the mouth in a moisture-tight fit. Otherwise, moisture may enter the container and cause the seasonings to deteriorate. Furthermore, since various seasonings, including salt, pepper, spices, and the like, are normally used in kitchens, it is convenient for a plurality of similar seasoning containers to be provided. In accordance with the present invention, the seasoning container is constructed so that it may conveniently and easily be stacked over like containers to conserve table space.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seasoning container that can be stacked over like containers in a stable tier to conserve table space. Moreover, another objective of the invention is to provide such a container which may be interlocked with other like containers in the tier with all the containers tightly fitted into one another so that the resulting tier is sturdy and stable, and so that there is no likelihood of the containers falling off each other in the event the tier is tilted.
Another object of the invention is to provide such seasoning containers which when stacked are configured so that each container in the stack provides a protective envelope around the mouth of the next lower container further to assure that moisture will not enter into the interiors of the individual containers.

Container for seasonings such as salt, pepper and spices


An image forming apparatus of a representative configuration of the present invention includes a photosensitive drum, which carries an electrostatic latent image, and a developing sleeve, which carries a two-component developer and develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum into a toner image. Moving directions of the photosensitive drum and the developing sleeve are opposite at an opposing portion in a developing device having a speed changing portion, which changes the driving speed of the developing sleeve, and a controller, which switches a target speed of the developing sleeve so that it is driven at a second velocity, before it is driven at the first velocity set in a lower speed mode, when the lower speed mode is executed in which the photosensitive drum is driven at a lower speed than in the normal image forming.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an existing image forming apparatus, there has been proposed an apparatus using a developing device of a cleaner-less system, which removes a cleaning device in order to downsize the apparatus, and performs cleaning of a photosensitive drum (image bearing member) by a developing sleeve (developer bearing member) at the same time as developing (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-215798, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-215799).
FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of the existing developing device of the cleaner-less system. As in FIG. 10, in the developing device of the cleaner-less system, a counter developing method is generally used in which a direction of rotation Ra of a developing sleeve 4b and a direction of rotation Rb of a photosensitive drum 1 are opposite at an opposing portion (developing area) of the developing sleeve 4b and the photosensitive drum 1. Accordingly, at the opposing portion, two-component developer carried on the developing sleeve 4b physically scrapes off a transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1, and increases recovery of the transfer residual toner.
In a developing device 4 of the counter developing method, however, the developer carried on the developing sleeve 4b receives a force in the opposite direction of a conveying direction of the developing sleeve 4b at the opposing portion. When this force in the opposite direction becomes large, the developer fails to be conveyed in the conveying direction of the developing sleeve 4b, whereby the developer on the developing sleeve 4b is retained near the opposing portion. Once the retention occurs, it may lead to an image defect such as adhesion of carrier and contamination inside the body of the image forming apparatus caused by the developer overflowed from the developing device 4.
One of such cases in which the retention actually occurs is when an amount of the developer carried on the developing sleeve 4b (hereinafter, referred to as M/S) exceeds an appropriate range relative to a set value of a closest distance between the developing sleeve 4b and the photosensitive drum 1 (hereinafter, referred to as S-D gap).
Such a situation often occurs when the developing sleeve 4b is driven at a lower speed. For example, transfer materials such as thick paper (basis weight of 150 g/m2 or above) and an OHT has a larger heat capacity than plain paper (basis weight from 60 g/m2 to 130 g/m2), whereby fixability in fixing a toner to the transfer material is inferior. Therefore, when performing image forming on these transfer materials, a process speed of the image forming apparatus should be set at a lower speed than that for the plain paper.
Furthermore, even though a developer M/S is within an appropriate range when the developing sleeve 4b is driven at a normal speed, the developer M/S may exceed an upper limit of the appropriate range when the developing sleeve 4b is driven at a lower speed.
Furthermore, a position of a magnetic pole of a magnet roller 4c fixedly disposed in the developing sleeve 4b at the opposing portion also affects the retention of the developer. The developer carried on the developing sleeve 4b forms a magnetic brush along a line of magnetic force formed by the magnet roller 4c on a surface of the developing sleeve 4b.
Generally, a peak of magnetic flux density (developing pole) of the magnet roller 4c is often disposed in the vicinity of the opposing portion. At this time, just above or near the developing pole, the line of magnetic force extends in a vertical direction from the surface of the developing sleeve 4b. Then, as a distance from the developing pole becomes larger, the line of magnetic force formed on the surface of the developing sleeve 4b gradually comes down to a tangential direction of the developing sleeve 4b. Therefore, the force received by the developer in the opposite direction of the conveying direction at the opposing portion, or a force that hinders movement of the developer, is the largest just above the developing pole, and becomes weaker with distance from the developing pole.
The retention is more likely to occur when the force received by the developer in the opposite direction of the conveying direction at the opposing portion is large. Occurrence of the retention may be restrained by shifting the developing pole to a downstream or upstream side of a closest position of the developing sleeve 4b and the photosensitive drum 1. In Japanese Patent No. 4065481, the occurrence of the retention is restrained by shifting the developing pole 15 degrees to the downstream side of the closest position of the developing sleeve 4b and the photosensitive drum 1 at the opposing portion.
However, the technique in Japanese Patent No. 4065481 has a risk of decreasing image quality of an output image.
Just above and near the developing pole, the magnetic brush on the surface of the developing sleeve 4b is standing along the line of magnetic force, and an amount of developer per unit volume on the surface of the developing sleeve 4b is non-dense. Therefore, when a developing bias is applied, the toner existing in between a tip of the magnetic brush and near the surface of the developing sleeve 4b flies to the side of photosensitive drum 1, whereby a moving efficiency of the toner is high.
On the other hand, the magnetic brush on the surface of the developing sleeve 4b at a position away from the developing pole is lying down on the surface of the developing sleeve 4b along the line of magnetic force, and the amount of developer per unit volume on the surface of the developing sleeve 4b is dense. Therefore, it is difficult for the toner near the surface of the developing sleeve 4b to fly to the side of photosensitive drum 1, whereby the moving efficiency of the toner is low.
Therefore, in a case where the developing pole is shifted as in Japanese Patent No. 4065481, the moving efficiency of the toner at the opposing portion is low. Such a phenomenon noticeably appears when the developer deteriorates due to durability and the toner parting properties with the carrier declines, whereby an image defect such as insufficient density of a solid image or poor coarseness occurs.
Therefore, it is desirable for an image forming apparatus of the counter developing method according to an embodiment of the present invention to provide the image forming apparatus capable of stably forming a high-quality image without causing the retention in the vicinity of the opposing portion of the developer bearing member and the image bearing member, even in a case where the image forming is performed by driving the developer bearing member at a lower speed than in the normal speed.

Image forming apparatus with developer bearing member velocity control


An image receiving medium for use in combination with a sublimation type thermal image transfer recording medium with a sublimation-type dye containing image transfer layer is composed of a substrate including a sheet made of a fibrous material and a polymeric material in the form of partcles or a porous resin, the polymeric material or the porous resin being located in the interstices within the fibrous material; and a dye receiving layer formed the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image receiving medium to be used in combination with a sublimation type thermal image transfer recording medium comprising a sublimation-type-dye containing image transfer layer.
2. Discussion of Background
Conventionally, a laminated material is employed as an image receiving medium for use in sublimation type thermal image transfer recording. The laminated material comprises a substrate such as a sheet of synthetic paper, high quality paper, art paper, or coated paper, or a polyester film, and a dye receiving layer formed on the substrate. The dye receiving layer comprises as the main component a material such as a thermoplastic polyester resin having strong dyeing properties with respect to a sublimation-type dye and is provided on the substrate, for example, by coating.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 3-83686 discloses an image receiving medium for use in sublimation type thermal image transfer, which comprises a substrate such as a sheet of high quality paper, art paper, coated paper, synthetic-resin-impregnated, or emulsion-impregnated paper, or a film of a synthetic resin such as polyolefin, polyethylene terephthalate or polystyrene; and a dye receiving layer comprising a vinyl resin or a polyester resin, formed on the substrate.
When the substrate of such an image receiving medium is not a sheet of paper, but a resin film, however, there are the shortcomings that the handling properties are poor because the substrate made of a resin does not have a paper-like touch, and that the manufacturing cost thereof is high. On the other hand, when a sheet of paper such as coated paper is employed as the substrate of the image receiving sheet, voids or irregularities are formed on the surface of the image receiving sheet, because the substrate is made of a fibrous material. As a result, a sublimation type dye contained in an image transfer layer of a sublimation type thermal image transfer recording medium cannot be clearly transferred imagewise to the dye receiving layer of the image receiving sheet, and non-image-transferred portions are formed in the images obtained.

Image receiving medium for use with sublimation type thermal image transfer recording medium


This invention relates to (meth)acrylate based polymerizable compositions and adhesive systems prepared therefrom, which include an initiator system comprising a complex of an organoborane with a complexing agent, an aziridine-containing compound, and a carrier material with which the initiator system is unreactive and which renders the composition having a flash point above 140° F. The inventive compositions desirably have a flash point above 200° F., for each of the parts of the adhesive system. To achieve the physical properties of the inventive compositions and adhesive systems, it is desirable for the carrier material to have such flash points; however, provided that in their entirety the inventive compositions and adhesive systems have such flash points, it is not necessary for the carrier material itself to have such flash points. The inventive compositions and adhesive systems also include a package for controlling the rate of cure and indicating the extent of cure. The inventive compositions and adhesive systems are particularly well suited to bonding applications which involve at least one low energy bonding surface, for example, polyolefin, polyethylene, and polypropylene surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to (meth)acrylate based polymerizable compositions and adhesive systems prepared therefrom, which include an initiator system, an aziridine-containing compound, and a carrier material with which the initiator system is unreactive. The inventive compositions demonstrate a flash point above 140° F., desirably above 200° F., for each of the parts of the adhesive system. The inventive compositions and adhesive systems also include a package for controlling the rate of cure and indicating the extent of cure. The inventive compositions and adhesive systems are particularly well suited to bonding applications which involve at least one low energy bonding surface, for example, polyolefin, polyethylene, and polypropylene surfaces.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Low energy surfaces such as polyolefins, i.e., polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, polyisoprene, and copolymers thereof, are well known to be difficult to bond to each other and to other surfaces using adhesive bonding technology since they have few active bonding sites available at the free surfaces. Low energy surfaces are defined as those having surface energies less than 45 mJ/m2, more typically less than 40 mJ/m2, or less than 35 mJ/m2.
Bonding low energy surfaces by surface pre-treatments such as flame treatments, plasma treatments, oxidation, sputter etching, corona discharge, or primer treatments with a high surface energy material is well known. Such treatments disrupt the bonds at the surface of the low energy material providing sites which are reactive and which can participate in bonding reactions with adhesive materials. However, such surface pre-treatments are usually undesirable, in that they add cost to the process, they are not particularly reproducible in their results, and the effect of the pre-treatments wears off with time so the pre-treated surfaces must be re-pre-treated if they are not bonded within a reasonable period of time.
The chemistry of organic boron compounds has been studied in detail [see e.g. D. Barton and W. D. Ollis, "Comprehensive Organic Chemistry", Vol. 3, Part 14, Pergamon Press (1979) and H. C. Brown, Boranes in Organic Chemistry, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y. (1972)]. The use of organoboranes such as the trialkylboranes including triethylborane and tributylborane for initiating and catalyzing the polymerization of vinyl monomers is well known. However, such organoborane compounds are known to be flammable in air so that the compounds and compositions containing them require special handling and the compositions have poor shelf stability [see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,823 (Jennes), and the Background section of U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,711 (Pocius), at col. 2].
Certain boron alkyl compounds and their use as initiators of polymerization are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,515,724, 4,638,092, 4,638,498, 4,676,858 and 4,921,921 (the "Ritter patents").
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,106,928, 5,143,884, 5,286,821, 5,310,835 and 5,376,746 disclose a two-part initiator system for acrylic adhesive compositions, in which the first part includes a reportedly stable organoborane amine complex and the second part includes a destabilizer or activator such as an organic acid or an aldehyde.
Japanese Patent Publication No. S48-18928 describes a method for adhering polyolefin or vinyl polymers using an adhesive obtained by adding trialkylboron to a vinyl monomer, with or without vinyl polymer. Examples of trialkylboron include triisopropylboron, tri-n-butylboron, tripropylboron and tri-tert-butylboron.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,611 (Mottus) describes a process for polymerizing unsaturated monomers with a catalyst comprising an organoboron compound, a peroxygen compound and an amine complexing agent for the boron compound.
It is well known that the bonding of polyolefin substrates and other low surface energy substrates causes particular difficulties. Attempts have been made to overcome these difficulties by the extensive and expensive substrate surface preparation described above, or by priming the surface with a high surface energy primer. However, it is desired to develop adhesive compositions, which will bond low surface energy substrates without such surface preparation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,070 (Zharov), and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,616,796, 5,621,143, 5,681,910, 5,684,102, 5,686,544, 5,718,977, 5,795,657, 5,883,208 and the '711 patent describe organoborane amine complexes which can be used in systems that initiate the polymerization of acrylic monomers in compositions useful for bonding low surface energy plastics substrates such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polytetrafluoroethylene.
The '711 patent describes polymerization initiator systems comprising an organoborane amine complex and an aziridine-functional material. It is reported that a wide variety of aziridine-functional materials may be used, including monofunctional aziridines and aziridines, although the latter are preferred, especially if they have an aziridine functionality of 2 to 4.
International Patent Publication No. WO 99/64528 describes low odor polymerizable compositions comprising monomer blends and organoborane amine complex initiators. These systems require the preparation of trialkyl borane amine complexes to achieve the desired performance and shelf stability. The manufacture of such complexes is an undesirably complicated process. Further, the presence of the amines results in cured adhesives that have a tendency to become yellow in color on aging.
International Patent Publication No. WO 01/44311 also describes amine organoborane complex polymerization initiators in bonding compositions for low surface energy substrates. U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. US 2002/0028894, US 2002/0025381, US 2002/0031607 and US 2002/0033227 describe such compositions in which the amine is selected from amines having: an amidine structural component; aliphatic heterocycles having at least one nitrogen in the heterocyclic ring; an alicyclic compound having bound to the ring a substituent having an amine moiety; primary amines which in addition to a primary amine have one or more hydrogen bond accepting groups of an ether, polyether, thioether, or halogen wherein there is an alkylene chain of at least two carbon atoms between the primary amine and the hydrogen bond accepting group; and conjugated imines.
International Patent Publication No. WO 02/102646 describes a method for making an automobile assembly using a polymerisable adhesive containing an organoborane/amine complex. The amines used to complex the organoborane can be any amines which complex the organoborane and which can be decomplexed when exposed to a decomplexing agent, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,539,070, 5,106,928, 5,686,544 and 5,883,208, or in International Patent Publication No. WO 01/44311. In particular the amine may be selected from amines having: an amidine structural component; aliphatic heterocycles having at least one nitrogen in the heterocyclic ring; an alicyclic compound having bound to the ring a substituent having an amine moiety; primary amines which in addition have one or more hydrogen bond accepting groups wherein there are at least two carbon atoms between the primary amine and the hydrogen bond accepting group; and conjugated imines.
International Patent Publication No. WO 01/32716 ("PCT '716") acknowledges that while complexes of an organoborane and an amine may be useful in many applications, certain problems may arise due to the use of amine complexing agents in such conventional complexes. For example, when the complexes contain a primary amine, adhesives prepared therefrom may be prone to discoloration, such as yellowing; further, when including reactive diluents, such as aziridines described in International Patent Publication No. WO 98/17694, for example, in compositions containing the complexes, the diluents may prematurely react with protic amines (i.e., those amines in which a nitrogen atom is bonded to at least one hydrogen atom) in such complexes, prematurely decomplexing the organoborane initiator.
PCT '716 therefore proposes a complex of an organoborane and a complexing agent of at least one hydroxide or alkoxide, particularly a complex represented by the formula
where R1is an alkyl group having 1 to about 10 carbon atoms; R2 and R3 may be the same or different and are selected from alkyl groups having 1 to about 10 carbon atoms and phenyl-containing groups; the value of "v" is selected so as to provide an effective ratio of oxygen atoms of the alkoxides and/or hydroxides to boron atoms in the complex; each R4 is independently selected from hydrogen or an organic group (e.g., an alkyl or alkylene group); M(m+) represents a countercation [comprising a monovalent cation, such as a Group IA metal (e.g., lithium, sodium and potassium) cation or onium, or a multivalent cation, such as a Group IIA metal (e.g., calcium and magnesium) cation]; n is an integer greater than zero; and m is an integer greater than zero. Particular complexing agents are stated to have a countercation selected from sodium, potassium and tetraalkylammoniums. When any R4 is hydrogen, the complexing agent is said to comprise at least one hydroxide. When any R4 is an organic group, the complexing agent is said to comprise at least one alkoxide.
According to PCT '716, the complexing agent (i.e., the hydroxide or alkoxide) is used in the form of a salt. That is, the complexing agent is stabilized by a suitable countercation such that the complexing agent is capable of complexing the initiator. Thus, in the Formula, M(m+) represents a countercation that stabilizes the complexing agent, not a cation that forms an ionic compound with the organoborane initiator.
PCT '716 states that hydroxides and alkoxides provide strong coupling to organometallic initiators, such as organoboranes, with the resulting complexes having excellent oxidative stability. Thus, complexing agents of at least one hydroxide, alkoxide, or mixtures thereof are said to be particularly beneficial. Such a complex is stated to be a tightly co-ordinated salt formed by association of a Lewis acid (the initiator) and a Lewis base (the hydroxide or alkoxide). This indicates that the oxygen atom of the alkoxide or hydroxide is bonded or co-ordinated to the boron atom of the initiator.
In designing and developing a product which is to be transported, one must be cognizant of the transportation regulations of the various countries to which, through which, and/or from which the product will be transported. Thus, to the extent that a product contains a flammable or combustible constituent, a product developer should consider whether and to what extent the ability of the product to be shipped may be impaired, such as through special packaging requirements or particular modes of transportation. To this end, flammability is often considered in connection with a flash point of less than 140° F. and combustibility is often considered in connection with a flash point of less than 200° F.
International Patent Application No. PCT/US02/33839 ("the parent application"), of which this application is a continuation-in-part, is directed to a polymerizable composition, which includes a free radical polymerizable component, such as one based on (meth)acrylates, an initiator system comprising an alkylated borohydride or borate of formula XII as defined below, an aziridine-containing compound, and a carrier therefor which is unreactive toward the alkylated borohydride orborate. The inventive compositions of the parent application demonstrate a flash point greater than 140° F. (60° C.) and desirably greater than 200° F. (93.3° C.).
In addition, another aspect of the invention of the parent application provides an indicator system which controls the rate of cure by the addition of a halogen solution, such as an iodine solution, and which also serves as an indicator for when cure begins.
The initiator compounds of the parent application are ionic compounds. Similar concerns with regard to transportation as discussed above apply to compositions of the prior art in which the initiator system comprises a covalent complex of an organoborane and a complexing agent such as an amine.
Despite the work of many in this field, there is a need for polymerizable compositions for bonding low surface energy substrates, choices among such as polyolefins, and for end users to have a variety of such compositions which achieve that result through different technical strategies, and for such compositions to be transportable without excessive restrictions due to flammability or combustibility.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Non-flammable and non-combustible adhesive bonding systems having adherence to low energy surfaces


An object is to provide a method capable of reducing calculation number of times for obtaining a primary regression line of a slip ratio and acceleration, and detecting a decrease in internal pressure of tires with high accuracy even in the case where is no evenness in a road surface.

Conventionally, with utilizing a change in a relationship between a slip ratio of tires and an acceleration of a four-wheeled vehicle, a method for judging a decrease in tire air-pressure by obtaining the relationship between the slip ratio and the acceleration from a result of primary regression calculation is proposed (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 211925/2003.
However, the above method is to perform regression analysis based on the least square method. Accordingly, there is a problem that even in the case where a road surface unevenness is changed within a sampling time for performing the regression analysis, only an averaged regression line is obtained but a precise regression line corresponding to the road surface unevenness is not obtained. In the primary regression analysis used in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 211925/2003, there is a problem that calculation number of times is increased and a lot of multiplication and division which impose a heavy load on a calculator are included in the calculation.

Method for alarming decrease in tire air-pressure using wheel speed, vehicle acceleration and wheel slip ratio

Abstract: The present invention is a method for alarming decrease in tire air-pressure including the steps of: detecting rotational information obtained from tires installed in a vehicle; respectively calculating a wheel velocity, a vehicle acceleration and a slip ratio of the front wheel and a slip ratio of the rear wheel from the rotational information of the respective tires; accumulating the vehicle acceleration and the slip ratio of the front wheel and the slip ratio of the rear wheel; obtaining a primary regression coefficient of the vehicle acceleration and the slip ratio of the front wheel and the slip ratio of the rear wheel; and judging whether or not the tires are decreased in the air pressure upon comparing the primary regression coefficient and a reference value of the primary regression coefficient preliminarily calculated in the above step when air pressure in the tires is the reference internal pressure.