A system, in certain embodiments, may include a spray coating device having a self-contained air system. The self-contained air system is adapted to supply a desired amount of air pressure within the spray coating device. Further, the self-contained air system comprises only an air blower rendering the spray coating device air tank-less.

The present technique relates generally to spray application devices, such as spray guns, lawn sprayers, and so forth used to apply atomized liquids. More specifically, the present technique relates to a cordless atomizing device.
Spray coating devices, otherwise known as spray guns, typically receive fluid, such as paint fluid, and compressed air from external air and fluid sources coupled to the spray gun. There are several types of spray guns having various operating mechanism, such as suction feeding, gravity feeding or pressurized feeding mechanisms. In addition, any one or more of the aforementioned spray guns may be powered by an external power source adapted to deliver electrical power for operating the spray gun. For example, the external power source may include a power generator, a power grid, and the like. The aforementioned fluid and air sources may include canisters, tanks, pressure pots, and so forth. Extensions, such as hoses, tubing, cords, and so forth, are also used to couple the fluid and air sources to the spray gun. However, these extensions may limit the user's ability to move and maneuver throughout the spray coating operation. In addition, while operating the spray gun with cords and hoses coupled thereto, the user has to be constantly mindful of the location of the cords and hoses so as to not fall or stumble on these while using the spray gun. In addition, hoses connecting the spray gun to its air fluid and/or electrical supplies, such as those disposed on a vehicle, may get stuck or caught under tires of the vehicle. This may interrupt the spray coating operation, as the user may need to stop and release the hoses from the tire(s) of the vehicle. Moreover, in maneuvering and releasing the hoses, dirt and other contaminants that may have gotten stuck or attached onto the hoses may find their way into the atmosphere as dust particles landing on the freshly painted surface. This may require the user to sand and buff the imperfection out of the paint job, thus, increasing the length and cost of the spray coating operation.
In addition, the physical connectedness between the aforementioned fluid and air sources and the spray gun can limit the mobility and versatility of the user during the spray coating operation. To the extent such user mobility is compromised, the user may not be able to, for example, apply paint uniformly across certain surfaces, thereby lowering the overall quality and/or efficiency of the spray coating operation. In addition, the hoses and/or tubing attached to the spray gun may have substantial weight, further burdening the user during the spray coating operation.

Cordless spray gun with an on-board compressed air source


A system and method are described herein for controlling the white balance and providing gamma correction without compromising gray-scale dynamic range in a flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD). According to one embodiment of the present invention, the flat panel LCD includes electronic circuitry for coupling to a host computer to receive a white-balance adjustment control signal, and electronic circuitry for receiving image data to be rendered on the flat panel LCD. Further, the flat panel LCD of one embodiment is configured for coupling to a color-sensing device to receive optical characteristics data of the flat panel LCD detected by the color-sensing device. The white balance adjustment mechanisms include the provision of two or more light sources of differing color temperature, whose brightness can be independently varied (and distributed through a light distribution mechanism) to adjust color temperature without altering the grayscale resolution of the RGB colors. The present invention further includes white balance adjustment software and gamma correction software for generating white-balance adjustment control signals and appropriate gamma correction curves.

Flat panel liquid crystal displays (LCDS) are popular display devices for conveying information generated by a computer system. The decreased weight and size of a flat panel display greatly increases its versatility over a cathode ray tube (CRT) display. Flat panel LCD monitors are used today in many applications including the computer component and computer periphery industries where flat panel LCD monitors are an excellent display choice for lap-top computers and other portable electronic devices. Because flat panel LCD technology is improving, more and more flat panel LCD monitors are rapidly replacing CRT displays in other mainstream applications, such as desktop computers, high-end graphics computers, and as televisions and other multi-media monitors.
In flat panel LCD monitors, much like conventional CRT displays, a white pixel is composed of a red, a green and a blue color point or "spot". When each color point of the pixel is excited simultaneously and with the appropriate energy, white can be perceived by the viewer at the pixel screen position. To produce different colors at the pixel, the intensity to which the red, green and blue points are driven is altered in well known fashions. The separate red, green and blue data that corresponds to the color intensities of a particular pixel is called the pixel's color data. Color data is often called gray scale data. The degree to which different colors can be achieved within a pixel is referred to as gray scale resolution. Gray scale resolution is directly related to the amount of different intensities, or shades, to which each red, green and blue point can be driven.
The method of altering the relative color intensities of the color points across a display screen is called white balance adjustment (also referred to as color balance adjustment, color temperature adjustment, white adjustment, or color balancing). In a display, the "color temperature" of white correlates to the relative percentage contributions of its red, green and blue intensity components. In addition, the "color temperature" of white correlates to the luminous energy given off by an ideal black body radiating sphere at a particular temperature expressed in degree Kelvin (K). Relatively high degree K color temperatures represent "white" having a larger blue contribution (e.g., a "cooler" look). Relatively small degrees K color temperatures represent "white" having a larger red contribution (e.g., a "warmer" look). Generally, the color temperature of a display screen is adjusted from blue to red while avoiding any yellow-ish or green-ish variations within the CIE chromaticity diagram.
In conventional CRT devices, white balance is adjusted by independently altering the voltage gains of the primary electron guns (e.g., red, green and blue guns) depending on the desired color temperature. However, this prior art color balancing technique reduces the dynamic gray scale range of some or all of the RGB colors, as well as the overall color gamut of the display. In some conventional flat panel LCDs, a shift in color temperature may be achieved by adjusting the relative intensities of the RGB gray levels in a manner analogous to the adjusting of the gain of the electron guns of the CRT devices. However, this prior art method also causes the LCDs to lose dynamic gray scale range and color gamut.
Another prior art method of adjusting the white balance within a flat panel LCD screen pertains to altering the physical color filters used to generate the red, green and blue color points. By altering the color of the filters, the color temperature of the LCD screen can be adjusted. However, this adjustment is not dynamic because the color filters need to be physically (e.g., manually) replaced each time adjustment is required. It would be advantageous to provide a color balancing mechanism for a flat panel LCD screen that can respond, dynamically, to required changes in the color temperature of the display.
The white balance adjustment for a display is important because many users want the ability to alter the display's color temperature for a variety of different reasons. For instance, the color temperature might be varied based on a viewer's personal taste. In other situations, color temperature adjustment may be needed to compensate for manufacturing variations in the display. In some situations, color temperature adjustment can correct for the effects of aging in some displays. Particularly, color critical applications such as pre-press soft proofing, desktop publishing, graphics design, medical imaging, and digital photography and video editing, etc., require white balance values and gamma values of different displays to be precisely matched in order to accurately view and exchange images with confidence. Thus, without an efficient and effective method of providing dynamic white balance adjustment capabilities, flat panel LCDs have heretofore been unused in color critical applications which require precise color calibration and matching. Therefore, what is needed is an efficient and effective method of providing dynamic white balance adjustment capabilities in flat panel LCDS.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a display for mechanism and method for dynamically adjusting the color balance of a flat panel liquid crystal display without compromising the gray-scale resolution of the pixels. Further, the present invention provides a mechanism and method for adjusting the color balance of a flat panel display screen without complicated circuitry. Embodiments of the present solution also performs gamma correction and frame rate time domain modulation to reduce scalloping and visual artifacts. These and other advantages of the present invention not specifically mentioned above will become clear within discussions of the present invention presented herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for providing a wide aspect ratio flat panel display monitor independent white-balance adjustment and gamma correction capabilities


The present application relates to a motor vehicle comprising at least two seats and, located between these seats, a storage compartment which has a base, a front wall, a rear wall, and two side walls, wherein one or both side walls can be moved between a lowered position, laterally opening the storage compartment, and a raised position, laterally closing the storage compartment.

The center console in motor vehicles provides a practical solution for stowing various objects. The elimination of the center console, such as on vehicles lacking a center tunnel as in vehicles with an electric drive, provides, on one hand, the sensation of a larger available space, while omitting one of the most important places for storing objects within the vehicle. In order to allow a possible stowage in such vehicles, two very low side walls are also provided, which laterally delimit a storage compartment. With such low side walls, however, there is the risk, that while driving, the objects which are stowed in the storage compartment may fall out of the same. The falling out of objects into the footwell of the driver may cause a considerable risk for safety. In order to prevent such falling out, it is possible to provide the storage surfaces with corresponding lids. This however negatively impacts the feeling of space which is due to the presence of a flat storage surface, which is open at the top and is not delimited or is delimited laterally at a very low height.
DE 10 2015 002 758 A1 describes a blind for closing a storage compartment in a center console of a motor vehicle. The blind is designed so that its blades in the closed position cover the lateral guides, in which the blind is guided.
DE 11 2014 004 692 T5 describes a container, which is used for example for a center console case of a vehicle. Among other things, the base wall and the side walls are integrally formed as a single component and thus connected via integral hinges. The container is designed so that in the open state, if forces are acting laterally or from above, it avoids that stresses are applied onto the integral hinge.
The document GB 2508430 A discloses a container for the center console of a motor vehicle, which consists of a lower and an upper container part, wherein the total height of the container can be adjusted by moving the two container parts relative to each other. In addition, the upper part has a sliding cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,674 discloses a container which can be disposed at various locations within a motor vehicle and which can be fastened to the mounts of the vehicle seats. The container has rigid side walls and a hinged lid and in its front region an opening which can be closed by a blind.
US 2016/0059790 A1 discloses a mat for the floor of a trunk in a motor vehicle, wherein the mat is formed in such a way that it is provided with a plurality of surfaces, which can be folded out and which together in the erected state, form a container in the trunk. Moreover, this publication also discloses corresponding erectable containers also for other positions within the motor vehicle, such as the footwells in front of the seats of the motor vehicle.
US 2010/0090491 A1 discloses a storage compartment for a motor vehicle, which is arranged in a center console of a motor vehicle and comprises two roller doors. The roller doors are each movable and can cover a side wall of the storage compartment.


An automobile includes an anti-dazzling system and a luminous body. The anti-dazzling system includes a sensing module, a calculating unit, a controlling module and a display module. The sensing module includes a signal receiver and a recorder. The signal receiver defines a through hole and a signal receiving chip is received therein. The signal receiving chip can receive infrared light through the hole. The recorder can obtain an emitting time and a receiving time of the infrared light, and send the emitting time and the receiving time to the calculating unit. The calculating unit calculates a size and a location of the display module to be shielded, and sends the size and the location of area to be shielded to the controlling module to control the correspondingly area of the display module being opaque or translucent. The present disclosure also provides an anti-dazzling method.

When a driver drives at night, the lights in front of the automobile can be transmitted to the driver through the windshield, or illumination from lights of automobiles approaching from the back are projected to the driver by being reflected onto the rear view mirror which may dazzle (e.g., temporarily blind) the driver. Thus, the driver may feel uncomfortable, and in some cases, the driver may not see anything for a few seconds, which may cause an accident.

Automobile and anti-dazzling method for automobiles

HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.


A method for determining a blood pressure of a user includes: collecting an electrocardiography (ECG) signal and a pulse wave signal from the user; extracting characteristic parameters of the user from the ECG signal and the pulse wave signal; establishing a characteristic vector of the user based on personal information of the user and the characteristic parameters of the user; and determining the blood pressure of the user based on the characteristic vector of the user and a characteristic-vector-and-blood-pressure relational model. A blood pressure determining apparatus based on the method disclosed herein is also provided, which includes an acquisition portion, a characteristic parameter determination portion, a characteristic vector determination portion, and a blood pressure determination portion.

Hypertension is a common cardiovascular disease; world-wide the number of hypertension patients is large and is still on the rise. An accurate measurement of the blood pressure in an individual is very important for the diagnosis, management, and treatment of hypertension in the same individual.
Traditional blood pressure measurement technologies can include an invasive approach and a non-invasive approach. An invasive measurement typically involves inserting a catheter into an artery and directly measuring the arterial pressure through a transducer. This approach usually causes trauma, is commonly expensive, and is thus not suitable for daily measurement in a household setting.
A non-invasive measurement typically involves cuff inflation and deflation and commonly uses Korotkoff sound or vibration waves to measure blood pressure. The inflation and deflation is not only easy to cause vascular and tissue damage in places wearing a cuff, and the measurement typically requires a certain period of time, and is unable to achieve a continuous observation of the blood pressure.
A new blood pressure measurement technology based on pulse waves, especially based on photoplethysmography (PPG), has been develop in order to realize a cuff-less continuous measurement of blood pressure. This technology is based on a principle that the pulse transit time (PTT) of an individual is correlated to the blood pressure, yet due to the inter-individual difference in the model correlating PTT with the blood pressure, a calibration is needed before use for each individual person, which causes an inconvenience during use.

Apparatus for determining blood pressure


A television receiver (a signal processing apparatus) equipped with a microprocessor unit, wherein a high speed processing, such as video decoding, is performed by a programmable operation circuit, and a low speed processing, such as control processing, synchronous processing, or deflection processing, is performed by the microprocessor unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a television receiver and a signal processing apparatus, both for processing a video signal using a programmable operation unit and a microprocessor unit (hereinafter referred to as MPU).
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, broadcasting systems have been diversified and, at present, not only conventional NTSC television broadcasting utilizing a ground wave but also high-definition television broadcasting utilizing a broadcasting satellite (hereinafter referred to as BS) are put to practical use. With the diversification of broadcasting systems, television receivers are required to have the ability to receive various broadcasts.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a television receiver receiving a conventional NTSC system television broadcast using a ground wave, an NTSC broadcast using a BS, and a high-definition television broadcast using a BS.
First of all, the operation of the television receiver to receive the ground wave television broadcast will be described.
A conventional television broadcasting wave, i.e., a ground wave, received by an antenna 10 is input to a V/UHF tuner, wherein a desired channel signal is selected and converted into an intermediate frequency signal. Thereafter, the intermediate frequency signal is amplified by an intermediate frequency amplifier 12, converted into a base band NTSC signal by a VSB demodulator 13, and supplied to a selector circuit 24. In the selector circuit 24, the base band NTSC signal from the VSB demodulator 13 is selected, and this signal is input to a synchronous processing circuit 15 and an AD converter 14. In the NTSC system, the sampling frequency of the AD converter 14 is usually four times as high as a color subcarrier, and it is about 14.3 MHz. The base band NTSC signal digitized by the AD converter 14 is supplied to an NTSC decoder circuit 16, wherein the signal is subjected to the NTSC decoding process, such as luminance signal/chrominance signal separation, color demodulation, and inverse matrix processing. As a result of the NTSC decoding process, RGB signals are output from the decoder circuit 16. These RGB signals are converted into analog signals by a DA converter 17, selected in a selector circuit 20, transmitted through a driver circuit 21 to a CRT 22, and displayed as a video image.
On the other hand, in the synchronous processing circuit 15, a horizontal synchronous signal and a vertical synchronous signal are reproduced from the input base band NTSC signal, and a clock signal synchronous with the input signal is produced. The synchronous signals and the clock signal are input to the NTSC decoder circuit 16, the AD converter 14, the DA converter 17, and a deflection processing circuit 18, and these circuits are operated according to these signals.
The deflection processing circuit 18 generates a deflection control signal on the basis of the synchronous signals from the synchronous processing circuit 15. The deflection control signal is a sawtooth waveform signal for horizontal and vertical deflections, and this signal is selected in a selector circuit 23 and controls deflection of the CRT 22.
A description is now given of the operation of the television receiver to receive a high-definition television signal. High-definition television broadcasting currently being put to practical use employs MUSE (Multiple Sub-Nyquist Sampling Encoding) system which is described by Ninomiya et al. in MD-TV Broadcasting System Using Single Channel Satellite (MUSE), Technical Report of Television Society TEBS 95-2, Vol.7, No. 44. In this system, a broad-band and high-definition video signal is subjected to 4:1 sub-nyquist sampling which makes one round by four fields, whereby the video signal is compressed to about 1/4. Employing the MUSE system, FM (Frequency Modulation) satellite broadcasting is implemented.
Initially, a high-definition television broadcasting wave received by an antenna 30 is input to a BS tuner 31, wherein a desired channel signal is selected and converted into an intermediate frequency signal. Thereafter, the intermediate frequency signal is amplified by an intermediate frequency amplifier 32 and supplied to an FM demodulator 33. A base band MUSE signal output from the FM demodulator 33 is subjected to sampling at 16.2 MHz by an AD converter 34, and supplied to an MUSE decoder circuit 36 and a synchronous processing circuit 35.
In the MUSE decoder circuit 36, the original broad-band high-definition video signal is reproduced by approximately interpolating sampling point information which has not been transmitted, using intra-field, inter-field, or inter-frame interpolation. The high-definition video signal so reproduced is output as an RGB signal. The RGB signal is converted into an analog signal by a DA converter 37, selected in the selector circuit 20, transmitted through the driver circuit 21 to the CRT 22, and displayed as a video image.
On the other hand, in the synchronous processing circuit 35, a horizontal synchronous signal and a vertical synchronous signal are reproduced from the input base band MUSE signal, and a clock signal and a control signal, which are required for the operation of the MUSE decoder circuit 36, are produced. The synchronous signals, the clock signal, and the control signal are input to the MUSE decoder circuit 36, the AD converter 34, the DA converter 37, and a deflection processing circuit 38, and these circuits are operated according to these signals.
The deflection processing circuit 38 generates a deflection control signal on the basis of the synchronous signals from the synchronous processing circuit 35. The deflection control signal is a sawtooth waveform signal for horizontal and vertical deflections, and this signal is selected in the selector circuit 23 and controls the deflection of the CRT 22.
It is well known that, in satellite broadcasting, not only the high-definition television broadcasting using the MUSE system but also the conventional television broadcasting using the NTSC system are implemented. In this case, the selector circuit 24 shown in FIG. 9 selects a base band NTSC signal output from the FM demodulator 33, and this signal is subjected to the same NTSC decoding process as described above for the ground wave broadcasting.
As described above, the prior art television receiver for both the high-definition television broadcasting and the conventional television broadcasting is equipped with individual processing circuits for the respective broadcasting systems, i.e., the decoder circuits 16 and 36, the synchronous processing circuits 15 and 35, and the deflection processing circuits 18 and 38, as shown in FIG. 9, resulting in an increase in the circuit scale of the television receiver and an increase in the cost.

Television receiver and signal processing apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


In one embodiment a tape drive system comprises a reel adapted to engage a tape cartridge, the tape cartridge comprising a tape media having a servo code written along a length of the tape media, a tape head comprising at least one servo element to detect the servo code, a drive assembly to induce relative motion between the tape and the tape drive, a servo system to control the lateral and longitudinal motion between the tape and the tape head, the servo system comprising a sampling module to sample servo data from the tape media, and a position signal processor to calculate a position signal using the servo data from the sampling module, wherein the position signal processor calculates a position signal based on each adjacent servo element set.

Many magnetic tape storage systems implement a recording technology referred to as "linear recording" technology. Linear recording tape systems record information in multiple parallel tracks that extend in the direction of the length of the tape. Most, linear recording systems use one or more tape heads operating on tape that is driven past the tape head at a controlled speed. The tape head may employ multiple read/write elements that can operate simultaneously on the tape.
Continuing advances in magnetic storage technology provide for constantly increasing data storage densities. The more tracks that can be fit across the width of a tape, the more information that can be stored on a tape. Thus, there is a push to increase the number of tracks across the width of a tape and to reduce the width of each track. Increasing the number of tracks or reducing the width of a track makes accurate positioning of read/write elements, and issues of tape wander more important.
Servo control systems employ information or patterns recorded along a track of the tape to accurately position read/write elements relative to data on the tape. Servo patterns on a tape may include a characteristic that changes across the width of the tape. The servo information may be used to accurately position heads relative to the length of the tape (e.g., when searching for a desired position along the length of the tape, such as the start of a file) as well as relative to the width of the tape (i.e., lateral position). Thus, as a servo element passes over the servo track, lateral position can be determined.
Some servo control systems implement a sampling routine to collect position information from the servo patterns on a tape. In some respects, the accuracy of the sampling routine limits the storage density that can be implemented on the tape. Thus, improved sampling routines may find utility.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A power function is approximated over an applicable data interval with polynomials determined by means of a Chebyshev minimax approximation technique. In some cases, multiple polynomials may be used to approximate the function over respective ranges of the desirable interval, in a piecewise manner. The appropriate polynomial that approximates the power function over the range of interest is derived and stored. When the power function is to be applied to a particular data value, the data value is first evaluated to determine where it lies within the applicable interval. The constants for the polynomial associated with that range of the interval are then retrieved and used to calculate the power of that data value.

In the execution of programs V′=V1/2.5 on a computer, it is often desirable, and sometimes necessary, to compute power functions for data being processed. For instance, display devices, such as CRT monitors and LCD screens, exhibit a non-linear intensity-to-voltage response. A curve that characterizes this response corresponds roughly to a power function, e.g. L=V2.5, where V is the input voltage and L is the output intensity. The monitor in this situation is therefore said to have a "gamma" of 2.5. To correct for the gamma of the display, it is a common practice to multiply the input signal by a factor which is an inverse of the gamma. Thus, in this example, a gamma-corrected input voltage is computed to control the display device.
This gamma correction is computed for each pixel in the displayed image. In a high resolution display, a single image could consist of more than two million pixels. Thus, an appreciable portion of the computer's processing power is consumed by the calculation of power functions for the display of images.
Power functions are utilized in a variety of applications, in addition to gamma correction. In particular, multimedia applications employ power functions. For example, the decoding of audio files in the MPEG3 and MPEG4 formats requires the computation of power functions for quantization purposes. Similarly, a number of types of scientific computing employ power functions.
The computation of a power function is relatively expensive, from the standpoint of consumption of computer processing time. To reduce the overhead associated with the calculation of power functions, it has been a common practice to employ pre-calculated lookup tables that enable the calculated values to be retrieved in a time frame that is conducive to high throughput multimedia applications. However, certain limitations are associated with the use of lookup tables. First, lookup tables, by their nature, give limited precision results, and sometimes introduce substantial error into the calculation. Consequently, a degradation of signal quality may occur.
Second, each time that a call is made to a lookup table, the retrieval of a calculated value may cause other important data to be flushed from the cache memory of the computer. The loss of this data from the cache memory may result in performance problems elsewhere in the application being executed.
Third, a lookup table of the size necessary to reliably support operations such as gamma correction cannot be readily implemented in a vector processing architecture, also known as a single-instruction, multiple-data (SIMD) architecture. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of such an architecture. A computer system 10 includes a scalar floating point engine 12, and a vector floating point engine 14. The scalar engine 12 performs operations on a single set of data at a time, and hence is capable of producing one output value per operation. Conversely, the vector engine 14 operates upon arrays of data, and is therefore capable of producing multiple output results at once. For example, the vector processor 14 may contain registers which are each 128 bits in length. If values are represented in a 32-bit format, each register is capable of containing a vector of four data values. The vector processor operates upon these four data values simultaneously, for example adding them to a vector for other data values in another register, to produce four output values at once.
A memory 16 is accessible by both the scalar and vector processing engines, and can be used to transfer data between them, as well as to other system components (not shown). For operations that are not capable of being carried out in a vectorized manner, the input data values are transferred from the vector engine 14 to the memory 16. These data values are serially retrieved from the memory by the scalar processor 12, which performs the requested operation on one element of the input data vector at a time. The results of these scalar operations are stored in the memory 16, where they can be retrieved by the vector processor 14 to perform further operations.
It can be seen that, each time an operation must be performed in the scalar processor, the overall efficiency of the processing system suffers. First, the number of operations required to process the set of data increases by a factor of N, where N is the number of data values contained in a vector, e.g. 4 in the example given above. The efficiency is further diminished by the read and write operations needed to transfer data between the vector processor 14 and the scalar processor 12, via the memory 16.
Thus, it can be seen that a table lookup operation that is implemented in the scalar engine presents a significant bottleneck in the throughput rate for gamma correction and other operations that require a large number of power function calculations. It is desirable, therefore, to provide a technique for calculating power functions which eliminates the need to retrieve values from a large table of data. More specifically, it is desirable to provide such a technique which can be implemented within the vector processing engine, and thereby eliminate the inefficiencies associated with scalar operations.

Computations of power functions using polynomial approximations


A laser welding apparatus and method for easily adjusting a laser focusing position according to a distance from a laser irradiating device to a laser irradiating point on a work piece, or a welding point. A post-collimation laser diameter is measured when the laser emitting end has an optimal laser diameter on the work piece with respect to the distance from the laser processing head to the work piece. Corresponding data is stored with the above distance and the post-collimation laser diameter corresponding to each other. During welding, a diameter of the laser beam passing through a collimate lens is measured by a laser diameter measuring device. The post-collimation laser diameter is adjusted to be an optimal value according to the corresponding data.

Laser welding is currently used to carry out robotic welding. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-177862 discloses an example of such a welding technique. A laser irradiating device is installed at a tip of a robotic arm for irradiating a laser beam. The robotic arm is moved and changes an irradiating direction of the laser beam emitted from the laser irradiating device such that a predetermined welding point is welded by moving the laser beam. Such type of welding is referred to as remote welding, which is often used when a distance between a work piece and the laser irradiating device is farther than that of the conventional welding.
When the robotic arm is implemented as described above, it may be necessary to adjust the focus of the laser beam according to the distance from the laser irradiating device to the laser irradiating point on the work piece. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. (Hei.) 5-2146 discloses a method for adjusting the laser focusing distance. Such a method comprises measuring the distance from the laser irradiating device to the laser irradiating point on the work piece and adjusting a lens system within the laser irradiating device.

Laser welding apparatus and method utilizing replaceable beam guide and calibration system


A system for providing highly pressurized raw fuel to a pressure reactor. The system includes an inlet for receiving the raw fuel and a roller system communicating with the inlet. The roller system includes a plurality of independent rollers arranged in two converging planes. The rollers of the roller system successively compress the raw fuel as the raw fuel passes through the roller system between the rollers, such that the fuel is highly pressurized when it reaches an output end of the roller system. An outlet is located adjacent the output end of the roller system to dispense the pressurized raw fuel to the pressure reactor.

Various methods may be employed to generate electrical energy, and these methods typically require a high pressure coal supply system. In particular, many of these high pressure systems include high pressure reactors which combust the coal to produce heat or to further refine the carbon from the coal. The high pressure is used to nearly instantaneously combust the coal to produce the desired energy release. Coal, even when highly pulverized, is substantially a solid material and difficult to pressurize to the high pressures needed for combustion. To assist in providing the coal and achieving the high pressures required for combustion thereof, the coal is often formed into a water slurry. The slurry then can be more easily pumped and pressurized to the required high pressures. Generally, it is desired to have the coal pressurized to at least 1000 psi.
Various systems have been developed to provide the high pressure coal required, but these systems all have numerous inefficiencies. With such systems, coal is generally first placed into a slurry of some form. The slurry includes an incompressible liquid, such as water, with the coal particles suspended therein. The carrier fluid of the slurry is also provided to the reactor as a large surplus in the slurry, thereby decreasing the efficiency of the reactor.
Still other systems have attempted to provide a feeder system which uses a screw feeder or pump, but has similar disadvantages. In particular, they generally require a plurality of heat exchangers around the feeder itself to provide the proper temperature of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is fed into the coal in the feeder. These rely upon high velocity inertia and the incompressibility characteristics of CO2 pumped into the feeder to provide a seal to stop the backflow of the material as it goes from the low pressure input to the high pressure output. These systems do not easily overcome the high pressure head against which the coal is pumped. Finally, there are compressible gas systems that use cycling lock hoppers or sliding cylinders and pistons (see, e.g., Conspray Dynamic Sleeve Piston Coal Feeder, Report No. DOE/MC/14603-1562, Technical Information Center, Springfield, Va. 1984) for pumping pulverized solids to high pressure within a compressible medium. Like those which use incompressible fluids (i.e., water and carbon dioxide, CO2), these later pumps are also very complex and costly.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a more efficient less complex system to provide a continuous feed of high pressure coal to a gasification system.

High pressure dry coal slurry extrusion pump


A method for improving fuel heating is presented. The method can reduce system complexity and cost when fuel is heated within a fuel injector. In one embodiment, the method independently heats and injects fuel by changing the direction of current flow through a fuel circuit.

Fuel vaporization tends to decrease as ambient temperature decreases. This can make engine starting more difficult at lower temperatures because reduced fuel vaporization can result in an air-fuel mixture near the engine's spark plug that is less than the fuel's lower flammability limit. Further, lower rates of fuel vaporization may make engine starting particularly difficult for certain types of fuels (e.g., ethanol). One example way to improve fuel vaporization is described in U.S. Patent Application 2005/0263136. This patent application describes placing a heating coil around the nozzle of a port fuel injector. The heating coil is supplied electrical energy through an electrical connector that attaches to an engine wiring harness. Heat produced by the heating coil is conducted through the injector to heat fuel that resides within the injector. This heating apparatus purportedly improves fuel vaporization.
The above-mentioned system can also have several disadvantages. Namely, the system heats the injector through conducting heat from a source outside the injector body. Since the heat source is external to the injector, some energy intended to heat the injector is lost to heating the engine and may therefore be less efficient than is desired. In addition, the heating device requires an additional electrical connector to route power to the heating device. An additional connector increases the number of wires and connections. Therefore, system reliability may be reduced when such a system is used to increase the temperature of fuel injected to an engine. In addition, the system may be difficult to implement on direct injection engine because there may be less space available to place a heating coil around the injector nozzle.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and have developed a method that offers substantial improvements.

System and method to control fuel vaporization


An assembly includes a plurality of partitions to partition an internal space, surrounded with a pair of glass substrates arranged to face each other and a the peripheral wall having a frame shape and provided between the pair of glass substrates, into an evacuation space and a ventilation space. The plurality of partitions includes a first partition and a second partition, of which lengths are defined in two different directions. An end of the second partition faces a side portion of the first partition with a predetermined gap left between them. A space between the end of the second partition and the side portion of the first partition constitutes an air passage to evacuate the evacuation space through an evacuation port. The second partition includes, at the end thereof, a swollen portion protruding toward the evacuation space at least along the width of the second partition.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a glass panel unit. According to the method for manufacturing a glass panel unit as taught in Patent Literature 1, an internal space surrounded with a frame member is created between a first glass substrate and a second glass substrate which are bonded together. The internal space is partitioned by a partitioning member into a first space and a second space. The air in the first space is exhausted to an external environment through an air passage, the second space, and a ventilation port to evacuate the first space to a vacuum. Thereafter, the partitioning member is melted by heating to be deformed to close the air passage. In this manner, a provisionally assembled unit with the first space that has turned into a vacuum space (i.e., a glass panel unit assembly) is obtained. Subsequently, the provisionally assembled unit is cut off and physically separated into a part having the first space and a part having the second space. The part having the first space is used as a glass panel unit.
According to Patent Literature 1, the partitioning member is melted by heating and deformed to close the air passage. However, the partitioning member tends to be thinner at its part closing the air passage. This would cause a decline in the strength of the partitioning member and eventually cause a decline in production yield.

Glass panel unit assembly, and method for manufacturing glass panel unit

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A broach tool holding system (20) includes a pair of locator pins (46) rotatably mounted on a tool holder plate (36) to facilitate mounting and detachment of an associated broach tool (34). The broach tool (34) has a pair of locating openings (62) each of which has a locating hole (64) including round clearance surfaces (70) and round locating surfaces (72) that cooperate with the locator pins to provide the mounting in an accurately positioned location. The method of mounting the broach tool utilizing the rotatable locator pins (46) facilitates the mounting of the broach tool (34) with the locating holes that also facilitate the mounting and with securement being provided by clamps (74) for the broaching operation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a broach tool holding system, to a broach tool utilized with the holding system, and to a method for mounting the broach tool for use.
2. Background Art
Broach tools are mounted on broaching machines to provide material removal broaching operations, usually with a number of the tools that provide the broaching in progressive steps. Such broaching can be performed either on a rotary table type machine or a reciprocal slide type machine. In order to provide accurate location of a broach tool, it is conventional to provide mounting thereof on a tool holder that is mounted on the rotary table or reciprocal slide of the broaching machine used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,642 Roseliep and U.S. Pat. No. 6,256,857 Roseliep disclose one manner in which broach tools can be accurately mounted on a broach machine by two spaced abutment surfaces and a wedge member that engage flat lateral surfaces of the broach tool to provide mounting.

Broach tool holding system, broach tool, and method for mounting the broach tool


An optical scan engine includes a rotatable component, for example a disk or drum. The rotatable component includes a plurality of scan sectors that are arranged around the rotation axis and that lie substantially in a plane of rotation. Each scan sector includes a pair of reflective surfaces that typically are radially-facing. The incident optical beam typically propagates along a radial direction (e.g., towards the rotation axis) and each pair of reflective surfaces deflects the incident optical beam by approximately 180 degrees as that pair rotates through the incident optical beam. The deflected optical beam has a virtual image located on the rotation axis. As a result, the real image of the deflected optical beam rotates around the rotation axis at the same angular velocity as the scan sectors. Different scan sectors can be designed to yield diffeent deflections in the axial direction. The addition of a third reflective surface to each scan sector can be used to generate image points that are fixed in space as the scan sector rotates.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to optically scanning and/or optically generating a pattern of figures such as arrays of image points, spots, or lines. More particularly, this invention relates to scanning and/or generating such patterns using a single rotating component that has sets of typically either two or three reflective surfaces that deflect an incident optical beam by various amounts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical scanners are a very mature technology and are most frequently represented by galvanometric scanners that oscillate a single mirror across an entry beam, or by a polygon scanner that has multiple reflective facets which are sequentially rotated through the entry beam. Galvanometric scanners have the disadvantage that they must be operated at low angular velocities to achieve constant displacement rates or to achieve a specific angular displacement pattern as may be required for micro-welding or medical treatment applications. Low duty cycle is another limitation of galvanometric mirror scanners because it takes substantial time to start and stop the galvanometer drive element for each point in the image array that must be addressed.
Polygon scanners operate at constant angular velocities, but they introduce a cross-scan random error associated with the machining errors on the individual facets and also due to run-out in the bearings that support the shaft of the polygon. This latter limitation is often mitigated by using expensive anamorphic relay optics to image the beam onto the facet in the cross-scan direction and more anamorphic relay optics to remove this one-dimensional power and form a round image spot. Another limitation of polygon scanners is the low duty cycle associated with a beam traversing a plurality of reflective facets.
For many optical pattern generators, the principal limitation is low duty cycle. The Broome optical pattern generator described in commonly owned, co-pending application Ser. No. 11/158,907, "Optical Pattern Generator Using A Single Rotating Component," filed Dec. 29, 2005 by Barry G. Broome et al. is noteworthy for its improved duty cycle. The Broome optical pattern generator can reach duty cycles of 50% or better. In contrast, almost all prior art optical pattern generators used galvanometer mirror devices with duty cycles well below 50%.
Another limitation of most prior art optical pattern generators is that only linear patterns can be produced easily unless two independently-driven galvanometer mirror devices are used. In that case, synchronization of the two mirror devices is required and, due to the nature of galvanometer devices, it is still difficult to generate irregular two-dimensional patterns. Another limitation of most prior art optical pattern generators is that only narrow or collimated input beams can be used unless the duty cycle becomes very low.
Thus, there is a need for optical pattern generators with better capabilities than are currently available.

Optical scan engine using rotating mirror sectors


A switch-mode power supply control apparatus includes a PWM controller for outputting a driving signal and a short-circuit protection module coupled to a detection terminal. The detection terminal receives a zero-crossing detection voltage. If the time that the detection voltage input to the detection terminal is lower than a first reference voltage exceeds a predetermined time period, the short-circuit protection module determines that a short-circuit abnormal situation occurs, the short-circuit protection module outputs a short-circuit signal to the PWM controller, and the driving signal output by the PWM controller becomes a turn-off signal. If the short-circuit protection module does not detect the short-circuit abnormal situation, the PWM controller operates normally. A flyback switch-mode power supply includes the switch-mode power supply control apparatus. The flyback switch-mode power supply has a low power consumption when a short-circuit protection is taking place.

A switch-mode power supply is a power source which utilizes modern electrical and electronic technology to control the ratio of on-time to off-time for a switch transistor and maintain a stable output voltage. The switch-mode power supply can be categorized into DC-DC converter circuit or AC-DC converter circuit, isolated or non-isolated converter circuit, boost or buck converter circuit, continuous current mode (CCM) or discontinuous current mode (DCM), etc. Among these converter circuits, the isolated converter circuit can further be categorized into single-ended structure (flyback or forward) and double-ended structure (pull-push, half-bridge or full-bridge).
There are about 14 commonly used types of basic topologies for the switch-mode power supply. Each type has its own characteristics and application. The flyback switch-mode power supply is more applicable to a high-voltage and low-power scenario where the voltage is no higher than 5000 V and the power is lower than 15 W. In the case of a relatively high input voltage and an appropriate primary current, the flyback switch-mode power supply may also be applied in a power source whose output power is up to 150 W. A major advantage of the flyback switch-mode power supply is that it does not require an output filtering inductor, which is especially crucial for decreasing the size of the converter and lowering the cost. Moreover, the flyback switch-mode power supply does not require a high-voltage freewheeling diode, either, which is more advantageous in a high-voltage application.
With respect to the topology of the flyback switch-mode power supply, when the switch transistor turns on, the transformer stores energy and the load current is provided by an output filtering capacitor. When the switch transistor turns off, the transformer delivers the stored energy to the load and the output filtering capacitor in order to compensate the energy consumed when the capacitor alone provides current to the load.
FIG. 1 illustrates a basic topology of a flyback switch-mode power supply. The flyback switch-mode power supply 100 includes a flyback converter and a PWM controller 101. The flyback converter includes a transformer 102, a switch transistor S1, an output rectifier D1 and an output filtering capacitor C1. The type of the converter can be recognized easily as the flyback converter through the in-phase terminals of the primary winding L1 and the secondary winding L2 of the transformer.
An input AC voltage VIN is coupled to the in-phase terminal of the primary winding L1 of the transformer. The anti-phase terminal of the primary winding L1 is coupled to the drain of the switch transistor S1. The gate of the switch transistor S1 is coupled to the PWM controller. The source of the switch transistor S1 is grounded. The in-phase terminal of the secondary winding L2 is grounded. The anti-phase terminal of the secondary winding L2 is coupled to the positive terminal of the output rectifier D1. The negative terminal of the output rectifier D1 and the output filtering capacitor C1 are coupled to an output stage VOUT. The other terminal of the output filtering capacitor C1 is grounded.
When the switch transistor S1 turns on, the input AC voltage VIN supplies energy to the transformer via the primary winding L1 of the transformer and the switch transistor S1, the voltage at the anti-phase terminal of the secondary winding L2 is lower than the voltage at the in-phase terminal, the voltage of the output rectifier D1 is inverted and the output filtering capacitor C1 alone provides power to the load. When the switch transistor S1 turns off, the current flowing through the magnetizing inductor of the transformer makes the voltage of the secondary winding L2 inverted and the output rectifier D1 is forwardly biased. The transformer delivers the stored energy to the load and the output filtering capacitor C1. In order to stabilize the output stage VOUT, the PWM controller controls the ratio of on-time to off-time of the switch transistor S1 based on a feedback voltage from the output stage VOUT.
In order to supply power to the PWM controller, the flyback converter may further includes an auxiliary winding L3, a diode D2 and a capacitor C2. The in-phase terminal of the auxiliary winding L3 is grounded. The anti-phase terminal of the auxiliary winding L3 is coupled to the positive terminal of the diode D2. The negative terminal of the diode D2 and the capacitor C2 are coupled to the power supply terminal VCC of the PWM controller chip. The other terminal of the capacitor C2 is grounded.
When the switch transistor S1 turns on, the voltage at the anti-phase terminal of the auxiliary winding L3 is lower than the voltage at the in-phase terminal, the voltage of the diode D2 is inverted and the capacitor C2 alone supplies power to the PWM controller. When the switch transistor S1 turns off, the current flowing through the magnetizing inductor makes the voltage of the auxiliary winding L2 inverted, the diode D2 is forwardly biased, and the auxiliary winding L3 supplies power to both the PWM controller and the capacitor C2.
When the abnormal situation occurs where the output stage of the flyback switch-mode power supply is shorted, the current flowing through the secondary winding L2 increases sharply, which consumes a majority of the energy supplied by the primary side of the transformer, and the output voltage decreases so that feedback voltage decreases and thus the output of the PWM controller reaches a full duty cycle. At the meantime, the voltage at the anti-phase terminal of the auxiliary winding L3 becomes too low to supply power to the PWM controller and the capacitor C2. As a result, the power supply voltage VCC of the PWM controller decreases. When VCC decreases to a preset voltage, the PWM controller turns off, the power supply voltage VCC begins to increase to enter a restart stage thereby realizing the so called Hiccup protection.
FIG. 2 illustrates a waveform of the power supply terminal VCC and the drive terminal GD of the PWM controller chip when the abnormal situation where the output stage of the flyback switch-mode power supply is shorted occurs. However, the time for entering short-circuit protection is determined by the capacitor C2 and the power of the PWM controller. If the capacitance of the capacitor C2 is too large, it will take a long time to enter short-circuit protection and the current will be large when the system is shorted, also, the transformer will be saturated and the power transistor will be burned down thus damaging the circuit. If the capacitance of the capacitor C2 is too small, the time will be shortened, but the PWM controller may not be able to work normally. Therefore, it is difficult to test the performance of the short-circuit protection, and the uniformity of the batch production will be poor.

Switch-mode power supply control apparatus and flyback switch-mode power supply including the control apparatus

HANGZHOU SILAN MICROELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A drive connection with a camshaft adjuster for an internal combustion engine is provided. A free end of the camshaft adjuster is coupled with an accessory unit, especially a vacuum pump, in a camshaft adjuster with a superposition drive and an electrical control unit. The electrical control unit (7) can be constructed as a hollow unit, through which a drive shaft of the accessory unit is passed.

The invention relates to a camshaft adjuster for an internal combustion engine.
Camshaft adjusters can be classified roughly as follows:
A. Phase adjusters with a control unit, that is, a functional unit, which engages in the mass flow or energy flow, which, for example, has a hydraulic, electric, or mechanical construction, and which rotates with gear elements of the camshaft adjuster.
B. Phase adjusters with a separate regulator, that is, a functional unit, in which the control parameter necessary for controlling the modulation of the control unit is derived from the regulator output parameter, and with a separate control unit. Here there are the following constructions:                a. Phase adjuster with a co-rotating actuator and a co-rotating control unit, for example, a speed increasing gearbox, whose adjustment shaft can be preset by a co-rotating hydraulic motor or centrifugal force motor and can be reset by means of a spring.        b. Phase adjuster with a co-rotating control unit and a stationary, motor-fixed actuator, for example, an electric motor or an electric or mechanical brake, see also DE 100 38 354 A1, DE 102 05 034 A1, EP 1 043 482 B1.        c. Phase adjuster with a direction-dependent combination of solutions according to a and b, for example, a motor-fixed brake, in which part of the braking power is used, for example, for shifting in the advanced direction, in order to tension a spring that can reset the brake after the brake is switched off, see also DE 102 24 446 A1, WO 03-098010, US 2003 0226634, DE 103 17 607 A1.
For systems according to B.a. to B.c., actuators and control units are connected to each other by means of an adjustment shaft. The connection can be switchable or non-switchable, detachable or non-detachable, without backlash or with backlash, and flexible or stiff. Independent of the structural shape, the adjustment energy can be realized in the form of providing driving and/or braking power, as well as using loss power of the shaft system (e.g., friction) and/or inertial and/or centrifugal forces. Braking, preferably in the "retarded" adjustment direction, can also be realized under complete use or co-use of the frictional output of the camshaft. A camshaft adjuster can be equipped with or without mechanical limiting of the adjustment range. As the drive in a camshaft adjuster, one-stage or multiple-stage triple-shaft drives and/or multiple linkages or coupling gears can be used, for example, with a structural shape as a swashplate mechanism, eccentric drive, planetary gear drive, shaft drive, cam plate drive, multiple linkage or coupling drive, or combinations of the individual structures for a multiple-stage configuration.
While conventional, hydraulically activated camshaft adjusters or camshaft adjusters in a construction with vane cells, pivot vanes, or segmented vanes have the advantage that                The hydraulic medium can be fed into the camshaft adjuster at any point for control,        The hydraulic medium is fed into the camshaft adjuster via suitable flow channels,        The hydraulic medium—if necessary—can be diverted and        Suitable devices for controlling the hydraulic pressure can also be arranged eccentric from the camshaft adjuster,in conventional camshaft adjusters, in which the control movement is generated via an electric motor and a superposition drive, triple-shaft drive, or planetary gear drive (in the following superposition drive), see, e.g., DE 41 10 195 A1, the electric motor is typically arranged in front of the superposition drive aligned to the longitudinal axis of the camshaft and the superposition drive. For this reason, such camshaft adjusters with an electric control unit and a superposition drive are built axially larger than corresponding hydraulically actuated camshaft adjusters. Attaching an accessory unit, such as a vacuum pump, to the camshaft adjuster on the side of the superposition drive facing away from the camshaft is not possible, because the electric control unit is arranged in this installation space.
From DE 37 37 602 A1 it is known to use a differential gear drive as the superposition drive, in which a drive is realized via a driving wheel in driving connection with the crankshaft and a driven part relative to the camshaft aligned with the longitudinal axis, while the feeding of the drive motion of the electric control unit is realized radially relative to the previously mentioned longitudinal axis.
From DE 102 60 546 A1, a hydraulic camshaft adjuster is known, to which a vacuum pump can be coupled on the side facing away from the camshaft aligned with the longitudinal axis.
DE 38 30 382 C1 discloses the drive of a planetary gear drive mounted axially in front of a superposition drive via an electric control unit, whose longitudinal axis is offset parallel to the longitudinal axis of the camshaft and the superposition drive.
The superposition drive known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,375 is constructed as a planetary gear drive, in which for a first construction the ring gear is driven by a servomotor, whose longitudinal axis is arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis of the camshaft, while the sun gear of the planetary gear is in drive connection with the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine and a driven part of the planetary gear relative to the camshaft is realized via the web. For an alternative construction, the drive is realized via the servomotor and the sun gear for aligned alignment of the servomotor relative to the longitudinal axis of the camshaft, while the crankshaft drives the ring gear for a driven part via the web of the planetary gear.
Finally, DE 103 52 255 A1 discloses a coupling of an electric control unit via a flexible shaft, a pneumatic motor, or a hydraulic motor, so that the control unit can be arranged at any point. Furthermore, the publication presents the proposal of arranging an electric control unit parallel to the camshaft and connecting a gear stage between the superposition drive and the electric control unit.

Camshaft adjuster with a superposition drive


A method for production of a fuel cladding tube for a nuclear reactor, characterized by the preparation of an ingot of an alloy of zirconium with the following composition by weight %: 0.8%≦Nb≦2.8%, traces≦Sn≦0.65%, 0.015%≦Fe≦0.40%, C≦100 ppm, 600 ppm≦O≦2300 ppm, 5 ppm≦S≦100 ppm, Cr+V≦0.25%, Hf≦75 ppm and F≦1 ppm the remainder being zirconium and impurities arising from production. The ingot is then subjected to forging, a hardening and thermomoechanical treatments comprising cold laminations separated by intermediate annealing, all intermediate annealings being carried out at a temperature below the α→α+β transition temperature of the alloy, finishing with a recrystallization annealing and resulting in the production of a tube, whereupon an optional external cleaning of the tube is carried out and a mechanical polishing of the external surface of the tube is carried out to give a roughness Ra less than or equal to 0.5 μm. The invention further relates to a fuel cladding tube obtained thereby.

Zirconium alloy elements used in pressurized water reactors for nuclear power stations, in particular those used to make the cladding tubes for fuel pellets, need to present characteristics of high levels of resistance to various types of corrosion. In particular generalized corrosion in media containing lithium and media not containing lithium needs to be taken particularly into consideration.
Various solutions to this problem have been proposed.
Document EP-B1-0 840 931 proposes using quaternary alloys, i.e. alloys of zirconium containing significant quantities of three alloying elements, namely 0.8% to 1.8% niobium, 0.2% to 0.6% tin, and 0.02% to 0.4% iron (where all these percentages, are percentages by weight, as are the percentages throughout the description below).
In such alloys, the carbon content must be maintained in the range 30 parts per million (ppm) to 180 ppm, the silicon content in the range 10 ppm to 120 ppm, and the oxygen content in the range 1600 ppm to 1800 ppm. The composition may be associated with a special thermomechanical treatment method.
Document EP-B1-1 149 180 also proposes such quaternary alloys comprising 0.5% to 1.6% niobium, 0.3% to 0.6% iron, and 0.65% to 0.85% tin, possibly together with 50 ppm to 120 ppm of silicon and possibly 500 ppm to 1600 ppm of oxygen.

Method of manufacturing a fuel cladding tube for a nuclear reactor, and a tube obtained thereby


A two-piece manufacturing process for making a running board of a vehicle with two extruded halves, one aluminum and one polymer. The upper half is aluminum and the lower half polymer.

Running board step members must be sturdy in order to support the weight of one or more passengers getting in and out of the vehicle. So called "nerf" bars are sometimes used for running boards. These are typically heavy-duty tubes which are sturdy but heavy in nature and also require much in the way of manufacturing.
Other running board steps are also used but do not facilitate high quantity manufacturing and therefore are expensive to produce in the numbers required in the automotive industry.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a sturdy, lightweight and easy to manufacture running board.


A DC/DC conversion circuit is configured with a first power converter and a second power converter that are connected through an insulation transformer, and performs power transition bidirectionally between two DC-voltage sources. In the case of charging the DC-voltage source in the side where the second power converter is placed, a control is made using a first rectifier-control mode in which the first power converter is placed under an output variable control according to an inverter operation and the second power converter is operated according to a rectifier operation. Then, when a charging current becomes an upper limit value or more, a control is made by switching the mode to a first inverter-control mode in which the first power converter is placed under an output fixed control according to the inverter operation and the second power converter is placed under an output variable control according to the inverter operation.

In recent years, for the purpose of reducing environmental load, power generating systems utilizing natural energy, such as solar power generation systems without carbon dioxide emission, are spreading among respective homes. Meanwhile, for dealing with power shortage and the like, development/commercialization is proceeding on a system provided with a storage battery, a system utilizing an electric-powered vehicle as a storage battery, a system combining solar power generation and a storage battery, and the like. In the above systems, a lithium-ion battery is used in many cases as the storage battery.
For example, in Patent Document 1, there is disclosed a configuration and control technique of an insulated-type DC/DC conversion device provided with a storage battery as a secondary battery.
Specifically, in the case of charging the storage battery using power from a DC power source, an AC voltage is generated by a converter in the primary side (in the side where the DC power source is connected), and then the AC power is converted (diode-rectified) to DC power by a converter in the secondary side (in the side where the storage battery is connected) that is connected to the primary-side converter through a transformer. In contrast, in the case of discharging from the storage battery to the DC power source, an AC voltage is generated by the secondary-side converter and the AC power is converted (diode-rectified) to DC power by the primary-side converter.
Meanwhile, according to the power conversion device described in Patent Document 1, in the case of charging to the storage battery, for example, since an AC waveform supplied from the primary side is rectified by the converter connected in the secondary side, it is unable to supply power if a maximum amplitude of the AC waveform supplied to the secondary side is not higher than at least the battery voltage of the storage battery. Likewise, in the case of discharging from the storage battery to thereby supply power to the DC power source in the primary side, since an AC waveform supplied from the secondary side is rectified by the converter connected in the primary side, it is unable to supply power if a maximum amplitude of the AC waveform supplied from the secondary side is not higher than at least the voltage of the DC power source in the primary side.
Thus, in the power conversion device described in Patent Document 1, the turn ratio of the transformer placed between the primary-side and secondary-side converters is changed according to a direction of power supply (charging direction or discharging direction), to thereby control an amplitude of the AC voltage inputted to the converter in the power-supply reception side so as to be higher than the DC output voltage of the converter in the power-supply reception side.


In one illustrative configuration, an air quality monitoring system may enable wide-scale deployment of multiple air quality monitors with high-confidence and actionable data is provided. Further, the air quality monitoring system may enable identifying a target emission from a plurality of potential sources at a site based on simulating plume models. The simulation of plume models may take into consideration various simulation parameters including wind speed and direction. Further, methods of determining a plume flux of a plume of emissions at a site, and methods of transmitting data from an air quality monitor are disclosed.

Air quality is one of the most important factors that can affect the health of a population. Countries around the world spend significant resources on monitoring air quality and controlling air pollution. One of the major problems is that instruments that can accurately monitor air quality are expensive and typically require expertise to operate properly. Currently, air quality monitoring is mainly performed by government agencies and dedicated organizations using specialized instrumentation. As a result, general air quality data often does not provide the fidelity necessary to pinpoint issues at a scale smaller than a regional level. Real-time air quality monitoring at a finer scale may be cost prohibitive because air quality monitoring instruments can be expensive.
There are three types of sensing systems that are generally used for the measurement for detection of compounds in air: point sensors, line (including long open path) sensors and imaging sensors. These systems can be statically field-deployed, integrated into handheld devices, or mounted on various vehicles, such as automobiles, drones, and other unmanned aircraft (such as balloons), planes, helicopters, and other manned aircrafts, and on satellites. Static line or imaging sensors can also be mounted on motorized systems to point toward different fields of view of a site.

Air quality monitoring system and method


A process is described for shrinking gate lengths and poly interconnects simultaneously during the fabrication of an integrated circuit. A positive tone photoresist is coated on a substrate and is first exposed with an alternating phase shift mask that has full size scattering bars which enable a gate dimension to be printed that is ¼ to ½ the size of the exposing wavelength. The substrate is then exposed using a tritone attenuated phase shift mask with a chrome blocking area to protect the shrunken gates and attenuated areas with scattering bars for shrinking the interconnect lines. Scattering bars are not printed in the photoresist pattern. The process affords higher DOF, lower OPE, and less sensitivity to lens aberrations than conventional lithography methods. A data processing flow is provided which leads to a modified GDS layout for each of the two masks. A system for producing phase shifting layout data is also included.

The fabrication of integrated circuits and semiconductor devices requires the application of a lithography process to define a pattern on a substrate. A photosensitive layer on a substrate is patternwise exposed with radiation that passes through a mask having opaque and transparent regions. A commonly used mask called a binary mask is comprised of an opaque material such as chrome or chromium on a transparent substrate which is typically quartz. The electric field or aerial image that exits from the mask during an exposure has a high intensity corresponding to light passing through transparent regions and a low intensity where light has been blocked by opaque regions. The aerial image is projected onto a photosensitive film called a photoresist to form exposed regions and unexposed regions. A small amount of radiation does reach "unexposed" regions, especially near borders with exposed regions because of diffracted light. This condition limits the minimum size of the features that can be formed or resolved in the photoresist pattern. Since there is a constant demand for decreasing feature size in order to build faster circuits or for a higher density of circuits per unit area, numerous resolution enhancement techniques have been developed during the past several years.
The minimum feature size that can be printed for a given process is defined as R=kλ/NA where R is the minimum resolution, k is a constant for the process, λ is the exposing wavelength, and NA is the numerical aperture of the projection optics in the exposure tool. A combination of lower k and lower λ coupled with a higher NA has enabled a steady reduction in technology nodes in recent years from over 250 nm to 180 nm, 130 nm, and now to 100 nm. Traditionally, k is reduced by enhancements to the mask or lithographic process such as attenuated masks, off-axis illumination (OAI), optical proximity correction (OPC), scattering bars (SB) and high contrast photoresists.
The most popular exposure tools have been g-line (436 nm) and i-line (365 nm) steppers and scanners but Deep UV (248 nm) tools have been implemented to achieve resolution in the 130 nm to 250 nm range. Currently, 193 nm exposure tools are being accepted as the primary path to the 100 nm node. With each step in λ reduction, the NA has been maximized to be in a range of about 0.7 to 0.85. If all the advances in k, λ, and NA are combined, the minimum feature size that can be achieved is about half wavelength. In other words, for the current technology based on 193 nm exposure tools, the smallest feature that can be reliably produced in manufacturing is about 90 to 100 nm. There is a need to push the imaging capability toward quarter wavelength with new optical enhancements since the time gap between each technology node is becoming shorter and exceeds the ability of tool manufacturers to match the pace with λ and NA improvements. This is especially true for gate electrodes in transistors where the feature size is already sub-100 nm and is rapidly decreasing.
Attenuated phase shift masks have been widely introduced into manufacturing processes because they can enable a smaller resolution feature to be printed with a larger process window than with binary masks. One example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,841 in which an attenuated mask is formed by adding an attenuator material such as MoSiOXNY to portions of the substrate. The thickness of the MoSiOXNY is adjusted so that the phase of the light is shifted by 180° in regions where radiation passes through the attenuator. Scattering bars are also used to improve the resolution of the process to 130 nm.
A photoresist process is also characterized by its process latitude. That is the combination of focus and exposure dose settings that will generate a photoresist feature within a given linewidth or space width tolerance which is usually within ±10% of a targeted value. A focus latitude or depth of focus (DOF) of at least 0.4 microns and preferably near 1 micron or larger is desirable for an acceptable manufacturing process. At the same time, the dose latitude or acceptable range of exposure doses should be at least 10% (±5% about a target dose) and preferably 15% or greater. As an example, a gate feature size of 180 nm that is printed at a dose of 20 mJ/cm2 and with a process having a DOF of 1 um and a dose latitude of 20% means that a feature sizes between 162 nm and 198 nm can be printed if the exposure dose stays within a range of 18 mJ/cm2 to 22 mJ/cm2 and the focal plane does not shift from best focus by more than 0.5 micron (μm) in either direction (toward plane of substrate or away from substrate). A phase shifted mask can help to increase process latitude besides improving resolution. This is valuable because expensive rework involving stripping the resist layer, recoating and re-exposing when linewidth is out of specification can be reduced which leads to a lower cost device.
An alternating phase shift (alt-PSM) approach first proposed by Levenson in 1988 appears to be the best method of achieving a quarter wavelength resolution. In the case of an alt-PSM with a single trench etched into the substrate as illustrated in FIG. 1a, exposing radiation 2 passes through two transparent regions with thicknesses t1, and t1+t2 on opposite sides of an opaque region 4. The amount of quartz 6 that has been removed in the second transparent region to form trench 7 is thickness t2 that has been determined according to an equation (n−1)×(t2)=½λ where n is the refractive index of the quartz 6 and λ is the exposing wavelength. The result is that the phase of light exiting region with thickness t1 (through aperture B) is 180° out of phase with the light exiting the adjacent region with thickness t1+t2 (through aperture A). The phase width is shown as the distance PW. This relationship forms a higher contrast aerial image that exposes the photosensitive film on the substrate and allows smaller feature sizes to be printed with an alternating mask 3 than with a binary mask which has a uniform thickness of quartz and light of only one phase exiting apertures of the mask.
An alt-PSM 3 with a dual trench is shown in FIG. 1b. Trench 8 with a depth t3 and trench 9 with a depth t4 are etched into quartz 6. Distances t3 and t4 are adjusted so that radiation 2 that passes through alt-PSM 3 exits aperture C with a phase θ° and exits aperture D with a phase (180+θ)°. The distance (t2, t3, or t4) that a trench is etched into a mask substrate will hereafter be referred to as a phase depth.
However, fabrication of alt-PSMs has been difficult in terms of automatic phase assignment, phase inspection and repair, and cycle time which increases cost beyond what many IC manufacturers can afford. Alt-PSM has a phase conflict problem because it creates dark resist (unexposed positive tone photoresist) at all areas corresponding to a 0° to 180° transition in the mask. Meanwhile, automatic phase assignment and alt-PSM design rule for an IC layout are very crucial for real applications. Spence (U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,890) and Wang (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,858,580 and 6,228,539) reveal double exposure alt-PSM to overcome these concerns. Spence uses an alt-PSM and a structure mask in order to achieve a new gate length and remove unwanted dark lines formed by the phase shift method. However, this solution does not avoid the difficulty of making the mask. It also does not address polysilicon interconnect lines that must shrink in dimension simultaneously with a smaller gate size in order to realize the full benefit of smaller gates. Wang uses a dark field phase shifting mask for shrinking gate length and a structure mask to define polysilicon interconnects as well as protecting the shrunken gate. There is no alt-PSM rule checking to resolve phase conflicts and the structure mask is binary with a relaxed design rule that prohibits features near quarter wavelength from being printed.
Another alt-PSM technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,002 and is primarily concerned with mask corrections to control an optical proximity effect where lines of equal size on the mask are separated by different space widths. Uncorrected masks tend to print isolated lines larger than dense lines in resist films. While the method deals with optical proximity effects, it does not mention correcting for lens aberrations or adjusting two different features on a mask which are printed simultaneously such as gate lines and polysilicon interconnects.
Still another alt-PSM method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,827 combines alt-PSM and attenuated PSM features on the same mask to overcome alignment concerns. The mask appears difficult to produce because in some cases, the attenuated shifter material is overlaid on alt-PSM regions where the transparent quartz has been removed to adjust its thickness relative to the non-shifted transparent regions. This arrangement would be difficult to inspect and repair and therefore costly to make.
For the 100 nm technology node that is currently being implemented in manufacturing, gate lengths as small as 60 or 70 nm are being produced and there is no method with current lithography techniques to achieve this dimension. Typically, 100 nm gate features are printed in resist and then trimmed by a plasma etch to achieve a smaller size. This method requires an extra step of etching which can be costly and difficult to control if two or more feature sizes are trimmed at the same time. Therefore, it is desirable to have a lithography technique that is able to print features in photoresist that are about one quarter the size of the exposing wavelength. The method should provide an acceptable process window and be compatible with a manufacturing process flow. A logical layout management flow should be provided so that an appropriate mask or masks can be built.

Full sized scattering bar alt-PSM technique for IC manufacturing in sub-resolution era

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


The effect of GDNF on kidney morphogenesis is disclosed. Methods for stimulating budding and branching of the ureteric epithelium, for stimulating axonal outgrowth, for maintaining ureteric epithelial cells in culture, for preventing apoptosis of ureteric epithelial cells, and for treating diseases using GDNF are also disclosed.

The shapes of different organs can be explained largely by two fundamental characteristics of their epithelial rudiments--the pattern of branching and the rate of proliferation. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor his recently been implicated in the development of metanephric ureteric epithelium (Pichel, J. G., Shen, L., Sheng, H. Z., Granholm, A. -C., Drago, J., Grinberg, A., Lee, E. J., Huang, S. P., Saarma, M., Hoffer, B. J. Sariola, H. and Westphal, H. (1996). Nature (London) 382, 73-76; Sanchez, M. P., Silo-Santiago, I., Frisen, J., He, B., Lira, S. A. and Barbacid, M. (1996). Nature (London) 382, 70-73; Vega, Q. C., Worby, C. A., Lehner, M. S., Dixon, J. E. and Dressler, G. R (1996). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA)93, 10657-10661).
Development of the ureter and urinary collecting duct system of the metanephric kidney is first triggered by a signal from the nephrogenic mesenchyme. This signal induces the nearby Wolffian duct to produce an outgrowth, the ureteric bud, which then elongates, invades the mesenchyme, and undergoes dichotomous divisions. Its tips induce condensation and epithelial conversion of the mesenchyme into excretory tubules (reviewed by Saxen, 1987). Kidney tubule induction and ureteric morphogenesis are regulated reciprocally (Grobstein, 1953; 1955). Attempts to identify the signals involved have traditionally concentrated on the induction of epithelial differentiation of kidney tubules, and some interesting candidate molecules have been identified (Kreidberg et al., 1993; Stark et al., 1994; Dudley et al., 1995, Luo et al., 1995; Perantoni et al. 1995; Torres et al., 1995; Vukieevic et al., 1996). Less is known about the control of ureteric bud growth and differentiation, although some growth factors, such as hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF) (Santos et al., 1994; Woolf et al., 1995), transforming growth factor-.beta.1 (TGF.beta.1) (Rilvos et al., 1995), and extracellular matrix molecules (Davis et al., 1995) have been implicated in the regulation of its growth and branching. Moreover, HGF has been shown to regulate branching morphogenesis of kidney-derived Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells in collagen-matrix cultures (Montesano et al., 1991a).
Recent data have shown that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is expressed in the condensing mesenchyme that surrounds the developing ureteric system of kidneys (Hellmich et al., 1996; Suvanto et al., 1996). GDNF is a distant member of the TGF.beta. superfamily (Lin et al., 1993) and maintains dopaminergic, noradrenergic and motor neurones of the central nervous system (Lin et al., 1993; Tomac et al., 1995; Arenas et al., 1995; Henderson et al., 1994; Oppenheim et al., 1995; Yan et al., 1995) as well as various sub-populations of the peripheral sensory and sympathetic neurones (Henderson et al., 1994; Buj-Bello et al., 1995; Ebendal et al., 1995; Trupp et al., 1995).
One known receptor for GDNF is the cRet receptor tyrosine kinase (Takahashi et al., 1988; Trupp et al., 1996; Durbec et al., 1996), which is expressed in several tissues adjacent to sites of GDNF synthesis and it is autophosphorylated upon GDNF binding. The functional receptor complex of GDNF and cRet additionally includes novel type of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-lined (GPI) cell surface receptors, GDNFR-.alpha. (Jing et al., 1996; Treanor et al., 1996) or GDNFR-.beta. (Suvanto et al., 1997; also named TGF-.beta.-related neurotrophic factor receptor, TmR2; Baloh et al., 1997). Comparative analysis of GDNFR-.alpha., GDNFR-.beta. and cRet expression suggests that multiple receptor complexes exist in vivo (Baloh et al. 1997, Suvanto et al. 1997). The ligand specificities of GDNFR-.alpha. and GDNFR-.beta. have not yet been fully resolved, but they bind both GDNF and its novel homologue neurturin (Kotzbauer et al. 1996), and both these GPI-linked receptors can mediate growth factor signaling via cRet (Baloh et al., 1997).
Transgenic mice deficient for GDNF, and those deficient for cRet, show remarkably similar phenotypes that are characterized by a severe defect in intestinal innervation, and renal aplasia or hypodysplasia (Pichel et al., 1996; Schuchardt et al., 1994; 1996). This observation, together with those from antibody inhibition experiments (Vega et al., 1996), suggests strongly that GDNF and cRet play a major role in development of renal epithelia. We disclose herein the target cell types and developmental functions of GDNF in kidney morphogenesis.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor regulation of ureteric budding and growth


A remote control apparatus of a camera including a remote control signal receiving element and a remote control mode indicating element provided in the camera body, a plurality of indicating windows on the sides of the camera body, and an optical connector for optically connecting the remote control signal receiving element and remote control mode indicating element to the indicating windows.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control apparatus of a camera.
This application is related to the commonly assigned application U.S. Ser. No. 07/790,352, filed Nov. 12, 1992, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
2. Description of Related Art
In a known camera, a remote control apparatus has been provided in which an operation, such as a shutter releasing operation, etc., can be controlled at a remote distance. More recently, a remote control apparatus has been developed in which the remote control operation can be effected, not only from the front of the camera, but also from behind the camera (i.e. a two-directional remote control apparatus).
It is further known to provide a light emitter, such as a light emitting diode, which emits visible light to indicate to the photographer that the camera is in a remote control mode and that the remote control operation can be carried out.

Remote control for a camera having an optical fiber


A method of manufacturing a flash semiconductor device minimizes a loss of dopant caused by dopant out-diffusion. A trench is formed in a semiconductor substrate. At least one poly gate is formed in the semiconductor substrate including the trench. An RCS (Recess Common Source) region is formed in the trench. Dopant ions are implanted into the RCS region, and an annealing process is applied to the RCS region.

In general, a flash memory is one kind of PROM (programmable read only memory) which enables data to be electrically rewritten. The flash memory corresponds to a nonvolatile memory whose data is not lost even when power is turned off.
Based on cell-array architecture, flash memory may have a NOR-type structure where cells are arranged in parallel between a bit line and a ground. Flash memory may also have a NAND-type structure where cells are arranged in series. The NOR-type flash memory has a parallel structure and may be used for booting a mobile phone since it provides relatively high-speed random access reading operations. The NAND-type flash memory provides relatively lower reading speeds, but relatively higher writing speeds. In this respect, the NAND-type flash memory may be more appropriate for data storage. It may also be capable of a greater degree of miniaturization.
Flash memory may be classified into as stack gate type or split gate type on the basis of the unit cell structure. Based on the type of charge storage layer used, the flash memory may also be classified as a floating gate device or a silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) device. The floating gate device includes a floating gate which may be formed by polysilicon covered with an insulator. Charges may be injected to or discharged from the floating gate by a channel hot carrier injector or F-N (Fowler-Nordheim) tunneling, so that data is stored in and erased from the floating gate.
A method of manufacturing the NOR-type floating gate device may include controlling a cell threshold voltage by forming a stack gate, including a floating gate, an insulation layer between gates (for example, Oxide-Nitride-Oxide ONO layer), and a control gate. An SAS (Self-Aligned Source) process may be used to form a common source line.
An SAS process may be performed to decrease a cell dimension along the direction of a word line. In an SAS process, a field oxide layer is etched at an etching selection ratio of a polysilicon layer for a gate electrode, a silicon substrate and a field oxide layer, and then impurity ions are implanted thereto, thereby forming the common source line.
Referring to FIGS. 1A to 1C, SAS process according to the related art will be briefly explained. In FIG. 1A, a stack gate 20 is formed including a tunnel oxide layer 22, a floating gate 24, a gate dielectric layer 26 and a control gate 28. Through the SAS process, a source region for 8 to 16 bit cell is opened, and an oxide layer is removed from a device isolation region. The oxide layer formed in the device isolation region corresponds to a field oxide layer formed by STI (Shallow Trench Isolation). By removing the oxide layer, a trench 14 is formed in a common source region, which is a region for a common source line exposed between each stack gate 20.
Then, dopant ions (As or P) are implanted into the surface of the exposed substrate, forming an ion-implantation layer. The ion implantation layer serves as the common source line 11, 12, which electrically connects source diffusion regions of respective cells.
FIG. 1B is a cross sectional view illustrating dopant diffused in the common source region according to the related art. Due to the trench 14 formed by the SAS process, the substrate 10 has an uneven surface.
However, in semiconductor device processes below 0.13 μm, if dopant (As or P) ions are implanted using the SAS process, dopant out-diffusion occurs in the lateral common source line 11. There is a loss of dopant, making it difficult to lower a resistance value (Rs) in the common source line.

Method of manufacturing flash semiconductor device


Embodiments are generally directed an adjustable tension wrap end hinge. A hinge assembly includes a first wrap end component and a second wrap end component; a first axle and a second axle, the wrap section of the first wrap end component being wrapped at least in part around a first portion of the first axle adjacent to a first end of the first axle, and the wrap section of the second wrap end component being wrapped at least in part around a first portion of the second axle adjacent to a first end of the second axle; and a first tension screw to adjust a tension of the first wrap end component on the first axle and a second tension screw to adjust a tension of the second wrap end component on the second axle.

Mobile electronic devices such as laptop computers, notebook computers, and two-in-one computers commonly have a display screen that is coupled to a base unit by one or more hinges. The hinges allow for closing the device into a flat position and opening the device into an angled position, and, in some instances, folding the display screen around to put the device into a tablet computer configuration.
However, in order provide such function, the hinges are required to both provide free movement and provide sufficient torque such that the display screen will be stable in any position. Hinges that are implemented in devices such as mobile devices may include wrap end style hinges, in which a wrap element is wrapped at least in part around an axle.
However, conventional wrap end style hinges generally do not provide for adjustment. In manufacturing, if an assembled wrap end hinge fails certain guidelines for tension specification the hinge generally is discarded, which increases the cost of the hinges due to the drop in production yield.


A built-up pen base computer including a base, which comprises a flush type LCD mounted on a mother board and an IC card connected to the mother board at one side, and a case fitted into a rectangular bottom frame on the base and locked by spring-supported keys to carry a set of computer peripheral equipment being respectively and electrically connected to a connector detachably connected to a connector on the mother board, the rectangular bottom frame having a slot aligned with the disk slot of a floppy disk drive fastened inside the case.

The present invention relates to pen base computers of the type disclosed in related application Ser. No. 08/031,992, and more particularly to a detachable pen base computer the main parts of which can be separately detached for repair and replacement.
A variety of portable computers have been proposed, and widely accepted for the advantage of mobility. A pen base computer is a newly developed compact computer which has an LCD for graphic input through a pen. Because the keyboard input device is eliminated, the size of a pen base computer is greatly reduced. Since a pen base computer is very small (may be so small that can be held in the palm), the master board and the LCD thereof may be damaged easily when frequently opening and closing the outer shell (opening the outer shell may cause a static electricity to happen, which will affect the operation of the electronic elements therein).
The inventor of the present invention invented a sliding box type pen base computer under U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,051 which eliminates the aforesaid problems. The sliding box type pen base computer according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,015 comprises a base and a sliding box, in which the base includes a mother board and a liquid crystal display supported on two longitudinal side stands with a receiving chamber defined therein to receive the sliding box. The sliding box is made to slide in and out of the base, and includes a battery box, a power supply unit, a floppy disk drive, and a hard disk drive on the inside surrounded by a vertical peripheral wall and electrically connected to the base. The present invention provides an alternative which also effectively eliminates the aforesaid problems.