An emitter-coupled multivibrator oscillator circuit including a pair of main transistors (Q1,Q2) having a positive feedback, in which the base of each transistor is connected to the collector of the other transistor via buffer transistors (Q3,Q4). A capacitor (C) is connected between the emitters of the main transistors. The circuit further comprises pull-down transistors (Q5, Q6), cross-connected so that they are positively driven to alternate between a conducting and a non-conducting state according to the states of the main transistors. The frequency of the oscillator is adjusted by controlling the current (I1) passing through the capacitor (C). Additionally, a compensating current (Icom) is arranged to flow through the collector resistors (Rc1,Rc2) of the main transistors so that the total current passing through each resistor is essentially constant and independent of the control current (I1). This way the signal amplitude of the oscillator is not affected by the frequency control.

Current and voltage controlled oscillators (ICO and VCO) are important components in the structures of transmitters and receivers. When applications in portable wireless communications systems are concerned, the main requirements for VCO/ICO:s are: an operational frequency range of 1 to 20 GHz, very low phase noise, and the lowest possible operating voltage and power consumption. Depending on the structure, a communications device may comprise several VCO/ICO:s needed for different purposes, e.g. frequency conversion, synthesis, modulation etc. Their performance will significantly affect the performance of the entire communications unit. However, the demand to implement these oscillators for silicon technologies faces several problems.
During the last few years several research projects have focused on finding optimal solutions. Two main types of oscillators are used as the cores of VCO/ICO:s: sinusoidal oscillators and relaxational oscillators. Sinusoidal oscillators usually produce the best parameters as far as high frequency and low phase noise are concerned, but they can be easily implemented mostly on GaAS technologies only. The transition to Bipolar, CMOS, or BiCMOS technologies causes several problems mainly due to the highly conductive wafer substrate. However, the speed of such available technologies is a challenge to researchers, as at present transient frequencies of 10 to 40 GHz are reached, a transient range that was previously considered to be able to be covered by materials based on GaAS only. The speed of silicon-based technologies is at present sufficient for mobile communication in the frequency range of 1 to 20 GHz, used by most mobile stations and wireless LANs. An additional driving factor in the design of portable equipment has always been a high demand for as low an operating voltage supply as possible and very low power consumption.
In LC type of oscillators the active circuit components are kept out of the non-linear operation range, whereas in relaxational oscillators the sinusoidal signal is the result of the incapability of the pulse circuit to switch fast enough at very high frequencies.
Several different circuit structures can be used to implement oscillation circuits, that is oscillators. One of these is an astable (freely running) multivibrator. FIG. 1 shows a conventional emitter-coupled multivibrator circuit used for implementing voltage controlled oscillators (VCO). The circuit comprises a pair of transistors Q1 and Q2 between which there is provided a positive feedback by the collector of each transistor being connected via a buffer transistor Q3, Q4 to control the base of the other transistor. The collectors of Q1 and Q2 are connected via resistors Rc1 and Rc2, respectively, to a potential in a supply voltage source 1, and the emitters are connected via current sources 3 and 4, respectively, to a lower potential in the supply voltage source. Similarly, the emitters of the buffer transistors Q3 and Q4 are connected via current sources 5 and 6 to a lower potential. Additionally, a capacitance C is connected between the emitters of transistors Q1 and Q2. The positive feedback, and series-resonant circuits Rc1-C and Rc2-C provided by the resistors Rc1 and Rc2 and the capacitance C make the multivibrator output oscillate continuously between two states once oscillation has been triggered. The values of the RC series-resonant circuit components determine the oscillation frequency.
The operation of a multivibrator will be studied in greater detail in the following. Let us assume that initially Q1 and Q3 are off (in a non-conducting state). When Q1 is off, the collector of Q1 and the base of Q2 are approximately at the supply voltage potential, and Q2 is on (in a conducting state) and the emitter current of Q2 is I1+I2. The buffer transistor Q4 is also on and supplies a base current to Q2. When Q2 is conductive, the current I1 passes from the emitter of Q2 via the capacitance C to the emitter of Q1. At this time the current I1 recharges/discharges the charge of the capacitance C, the emitter potential of Q1 falling at a certain rate until Q1 becomes conductive as the base emitter voltage of Q1 exceeds approx. 0.6V. As Q1 becomes conductive, its collector voltage starts to drop and hence the buffer transistor Q3 starts to turn off. Due to the positive feedback provided via Q4, the base voltage of Q2 also drops and Q2 turns off. As Q2 turns off, the collector voltage of Q2 increases, speeding up the switching on of Q3. As Q3 switches on, the base current of Q1 increases via the positive feedback. The higher base current discharges faster the spurious capacitances of the base circuit of Q1 and thereby speeds up the switching on of Q1. When Q2 is off and Q1 is on, the current I2 passes from the emitter of Q1 via the capacitance C to the emitter of Q2, where the emitter voltage starts to drop until it again causes Q2 to turn on and, via Q3, Q1 to turn off.
The speed (maximum resonance frequency) of such a multivibrator circuit depends primarily on the properties of the transistors Q1 and Q2. The buffer transistors Q3 and Q4 raise the speed of the multivibrator as they provide a higher base current which again discharges the spurious capacitances of the base circuits of the transistors Q1 and Q2 more rapidly and thus speeds up the switching of a transistor from one state to another.
The lowest possible supply voltage Vcc is achieved when it is assumed that the current sources 3 and 4 are ideal, i.e. no voltage drop is generated in them. Replacing ideal current sources by a practical circuit structure, such as current mirror, increases Vcc. Reverting to the operating principle of a circuit, it may be stated that either Q1-C-current mirror 4 or Q2-C-current mirror 3 constitute the current paths and that the current mirrors generate a stable current through the reference capacitor C, this being the main reason for the typically low phase noise. When looking for a new way to increase speed, the capacitance of the reference capacitor cannot be reduced much more as it would be about the same as that of the spurious capacitances, and thus controlled design of the circuit would no longer be possible.
However, nowadays higher and higher speeds are needed and at the same time the objective is to render the supply voltage as low as possible, especially in electronic devices using battery power supplies.
To realize a current or voltage controlled oscillator by means of a multivibrator circuit requires the addition of a suitable control solution to the circuit. Such a control should be as simple as possible.
In the circuit of FIG. 1 the pulse amplitude is determined by the sum of the currents I1+I2 multiplied by the value of the collector resistor Rc1 or Rc2 of the corresponding cycle. Pulse width is determined by the value of the current fed by either I1 or I2 via the reference capacitor C during its recharge cycles. Hence the capacitance of the reference capacitor C or the current passing through it have to be changed for frequency control.
The capacitance can be changed if a varactor is used as the reference capacitor C. The problem is, however, that varactor technologies are usually not compatible with e.g. BiCMOS technologies. Instead, a PN junction can be used in the BiCMOS technology. In this case, however, in the circuit of FIG. 1 the capacitor is operating continuously and changes the polarity of the voltage. In this case series coupling of two varactors, oppositely relative each other, may be a kind of a solution, but owing to the operation of the forward voltage range of one of the diodes, nonlinearities will occur, and the phase noise of the multivibrator could be unacceptably high.
Another alternative is to change the current and as a result the speed of the capacitor recharge. This is a very efficient way of controlling the frequencies of the oscillations but its main disadvantage is its direct impact on pulse amplitudes.

Voltage or current controlled emitter-coupled multivibrator with pull-down amplifiers


In a list display device, a current item frame being selectively intended at present is arranged in a central zone of a display screen, and precedent item frames and subsequent item frames of the current item frame are separated and arranged in a staircase pattern on right and left sides of the central zone. An item frame immediately before the current item frame and an item frame immediately after the current item frame arc arranged in the foreground of the precedent and subsequent item frames. In response to an input operation, the current item frame is moved so as to overlap one of the foreground item frames, and the other foreground item frame is moved to the central zone, such that an item frame, which was adjacent to the other foreground item frame before the other foreground item frame was moved to the central zone, is displayed in the foreground.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a list display device, and more particularly, to a list display device suitable for displaying an operation list or the like for equipment such as a navigation system, audio equipment, an air conditioner, or the like, which is mounted on a motor vehicle such as an automobile and so forth.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, such an art is known that allows selection of a desired item from a list, which is displayed on a liquid crystal display screen, for example, an address book of a mobile phone, a destination list of a navigation system, or the like, to display the desired item on the liquid crystal display screen using an operating means such as a jog dial, a joy stick, or the like. Such the prior art is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-175139.
In the prior art, there is provided a cubed menu displayed as a virtual image in three dimensions on a menu screen. Displaying menus by rotating circularly, the cubed menu make a user feel as if the user rotates the jog dial, so that the user can visually recognize changes between a plurality of menus on the cubed menu, whereby user-friendliness of the menu is improved.
Meanwhile, in addition to the above prior art, another conventional art is also known as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-111839 that displays item names of a list by listing in a vertical or a horizontal direction on a display screen in which such a technique is generally employed that provides indicators on a top side and a bottom side, or a right side and a left side of the list when scrolling the list in the virtual or the horizontal direction.
However, in the former case of the above-mentioned prior art, all of the items are displayed on the display screen, so that when each item has a character or the like assigned, there are many characters to be displayed to thereby cause the user difficulty in viewing item names in the case of a small display screen. In addition, in response to a rotation input operation via a rotation operation element, every item is moved circularly to thereby require an overall update of the display screen at the time of displaying, causing heavy loading on a processing unit of the displaying means. In particular, an entire update of the display screen is not desirable when driving an automobile due to troublesome display.
Also, in the latter case of the above-mentioned prior art, many characters are listed on the display screen, whereby the user loses a point of regard, thus not being suitable for use in the automobile or the like. Specifically, it is impossible to read characters in a moment while driving, so that when there are lots of items all over the display screen, eyeshot runs all over the display screen. As a result, the driver unintentionally reads through characters all over the display screen, so that safety may be impaired while driving the automobile. Besides, due to a small indicator area provided therein, there is another problem of poor visibility.


An X, Ku, and K-band omni-directional antenna with dielectric loading is disclosed. It comprises a conductor with a loading dielectric resonator and a ground plane. Broad frequency coverage from 7.5 to 26 GHz includes uniform azimuthal coverage from +10 to +70 degrees. The antenna can be used generally in microwave communications including Digital Radio Frequency Tags (DRaFTs) communicating with airborne and satellite platforms.

Broadband microwave communications provide the opportunity for miniaturized systems generally unobtainable at lower frequencies. Components, including antennas, can make these systems very expensive, however.
Radio frequency communication with air and space platforms provides the opportunity to remotely track objects over large distances. Military operations especially have a need for tracking technology for air-to-ground Combat Identification (CID). This generally includes microwave communications.
As an example, a Digital Radio Frequency Tag (DRaFT) can provide flexible technology to allow radars such as Moving Target Indicator (MTI) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to receive data from ground devices. At the frequencies used by these systems, small, lightweight and affordable RF Tags can provide for data extraction from unattended ground sensors and communication with vehicles and personnel throughout an area. This is particularly useful for the identification and location of combined units. Other advanced tag functions include additional communications capabilities for enhanced interoperability with identification and communications systems.
Ultra-wideband (UWB) systems provide the benefit of radio transmissions that use a very large bandwidth. This can convey more signal information including data or radar resolution. Although no set bandwidth defines a signal as UWB, systems using bandwidths greater than about ten percent are typically called UWB systems. A typical UWB system may use a bandwidth of one-third to one-half of the center frequency.
Broadband operation in the X, Ku, and K bands is desirable, but applicable biconical antennas are cost prohibitive and too large for applications. They can cost thousands of dollars and occupy a volume as large as a tennis ball. Currently, multiple antennas are required to cover this bandwidth, especially both above and below the horizontal plane.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a prior-art microwave biconical antenna 100. It is costly and can be difficult to integrate into a microwave system.
FIG. 2 is a plot 200 of the FIG. 1 prior-art biconical antenna H-plane pattern. It has been normalized based on the average signal from −135 degrees to +135 degrees.
Current microwave broadband antennas are expensive, difficult to integrate into systems, and can have relatively narrow operating frequencies.

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


Methods and apparatus for expanding the storage capacity of one or more DVRs in a household by attaching them to a shared network storage device are described. Recorded content is encrypted in at least some embodiments on a per customer basis rather than on a per DVR basis allowing content to be moved between devices at a customer premise and played back by any of the devices at the customer premise where the content was recorded. Network congestion delays are avoided by allowing a user to specify when content is to be locally available at a DVR and moving the content prior to the specified time, if necessary, to the local storage device in the DVR. DVRs can access, decrypt and display content stored on the network storage device that was recorded by another DVR in the same household.

Currently, digital video records (DVRs) have a finite amount of storage for video. Over time, users tend to expect ever increasing amounts of storage and, after a few years or even a shorter time period can easily become frustrated with the amount of storage included in their DVR. Thus, DVR users are often confronted with a desire to upgrade or replace their DVR because of storage limitations.
Upgrading or replacing of a DVR presents cable companies and/or other providers of such equipment significant cost and logistical problems. Replacing a DVR simply because of storage constraints can be costly and wasteful since the tuner and/or other circuitry of the DVR often remains fully functional and can remain usable for many years beyond the point where a user becomes unsatisfied with the original storage capacity of the device.
Replacing of drives in DVRs can be time consuming and present problems in terms of the transfer of existing stored content. Many users of a DVR would like to keep the content they already have stored on the DVR requiring the transfer of the data as part of a DVR upgrade. This can take time and effort which can be costly from the perspective of a cable company or other supplier of DVRs on a lease or rental basis.
While at first it might seem that connecting DVRs to one another via a network might provide the DVRs the opportunity to use one another's storage devices, this is often not a practical solution since most DVRs encrypt the content they record on their local drives in a manner that makes it unusable to another DVR. While this is done for security reasons, it makes sharing of local storage devices among networked DVRs difficult or impractical in many cases.
Previous attempts to address storage problems have involved the use of external drives attached to a DVR to supplement the DVRs original storage with the data on the drive being encrypted in a manner specific to the DVR to which the drive is coupled. Customers find the use of external drives unsightly and cumbersome. Accordingly, while supporting the use of external drives might seem like an easy solution to limited local DVR problems, it is not practical for many applications due to consumer unhappiness with such an approach.
Rather than attempt to increase the local storage capacity of a DVR, one approach to home video recording and playback relies on a single centralized storage device being shared by multiple playback devices. In such implementations, the content is normally streamed and not stored for any significant amount of time on a playback device. While this approach allows for a single relatively large network storage device to be shared by multiple playback devices this approach also suffers from various network related disadvantages.
Since content is streamed over what is often a shared home network, the playback may be subject to network congestion issues. The home network used to communicate the streamed content, e.g., a wireless home network or wired home network, may not be able to provide the bandwidth required to stream multiple video programs simultaneously to all the video playback devices. This can result in playback delays, e.g., as a playback device must wait for its buffer to fill with sufficient content to begin playback of a program segment.
In view of the above discussion it should be appreciated that there is a need for improved methods and apparatus which can be used to record, store and playback content at a customer premise, e.g., home or business. It would be desirable if, at least in some embodiments, a DVR device need not be limited to its internal storage capacity. It would also be desirable if methods and/or apparatus could be developed to avoid or overcome at least some of the disadvantages of using a network based storage device relating to potential network communication delays and/or network congestion. While not critical it would be also desirable if content recorded and encrypted by one DVR on a home network at a customer premise could be decoded and displayed by another DVR on the home at the same customer premise but still being secure with respect to devices which are not part of the home network or which are outside the customer premise where the DVR is located.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and apparatus for DVR and network storage of locally recorded content


A construction system where elements have connection components for a ball-to-socket or socket-to-socket connection. The ball-to-socket connection "locks" at orientations when one or more detents in the interior of the socket protrude into one or more of a plurality of dimples on the ball. The construction elements generally have an elongated body with a dimpled ball at one end and a socket at the other end, or dimpled balls at both ends, or sockets at both ends. In addition to the ball-and-socket connection, elements may connect in a socket-to-body connection, or a number of different types of socket-to-socket connections. The socket has at least two petals with a lip contour such that in one type of socket-to-socket connection the pair of sockets interlock to form a sphere. The irregular shape of the lip of the socket allows a ball to be leveraged out of a socket, and make orientations over at least 2.pi. steradians available in a ball-to-socket interconnection.

There is a wide variety of construction systems, particularly in the area of toys which are available on the market and described in issued United States and foreign patent applications. Such construction systems commonly have elements with male interlock means and female interlock means for connecting the elements together. Although a group of such construction elements can generally be interconnected in a variety of ways, such systems generally have a number of limitations including:
(i) an interlock means of one type cannot interlock with another interlock means of the same type; PA1 (ii) only one type of male/female interconnection is possible; PA1 (iii) a male/female connection has only one angular orientation, or a limited range of angular orientations; PA1 (iv) some surfaces of a construction element cannot be used in forming an interconnection; PA1 (v) only one size scale of elements is available for interconnection; PA1 (vi) the elements are not made from an elastomeric material and therefore are not flexible; PA1 (vii) a reconfiguration of interconnected elements is not augmented by sound effects, such as clicking or ratcheting sounds; PA1 (viii) the elements have no resemblances to biological forms, and are therefore unable to model biological as well as other organic and inorganic systems, structures or interactions; PA1 (ix) if the toy includes ball-and-socket connections, the ball-and-socket connections do not lock in certain orientations; PA1 (x) the elements do not include means for small, precise and reproducible reorientations; PA1 (xi) a small number of elements cannot be interconnected to form a closed loop; PA1 (xii) the elements are not formed so that interconnections can be broken using leverage; and PA1 (xiii) the elements are not formed so that interconnections can be easily made. PA1 (xiv) if two parts are in a ball-jaw connections, the ball cannot be moved within jaw from one locking position to another merely by applying mutual force. PA1 (xv) lack of dynamic movement which mimics ergonomic movement and platonic and archimedean geometries. PA1 (xvi) lack of resemblance to biomechanical movement, growth and forms. PA1 (xvii) no other lips on the perimeter of a jaw or socket to accommodate a ball and shaft, as well as to provide a basin of attraction, to permit a part to stand on end, and to provide additional surface area for a interlock means by which one type of interlock means interlocks with the means of the same type. PA1 (xviii) no other ball-jaw connection employs both friction and "locking" mechanism simultaneously to control the positioning of interconnected elements. PA1 (xix) the same number of parts that can create a closed system and can touch any point within an imaginary sphere. PA1 (xx) as a system, other toys do not permit complex form and movement in a small place. PA1 (xxi) as a system, no other toys allow for modeling of complex growth and branching. PA1 (xxii) only two elements cannot be connected in over ten different ways. PA1 (xxiii) do not contain unique connections that also act as transition connections to other unique connections. PA1 (xxiv) do not have an open design system. PA1 (xxv) do not have three parts that make a triangle. PA1 (xxvi) do not have a triangle that is both stable, yet rotating.
Consequently a need exists for a construction system which overcomes the limitations of prior systems, is easy to assemble and is inexpensive to manufacture.


An anchoring means for anchoring by a bonding mass in a drilled hole in a concrete part or the like has a threaded bolt with a reduced portion and an expansion cone followed by a head part, forming at the same time a stop shoulder. Over the reduced portion and expansion cone is slipped an anchoring sleeve which is provided on its outer surface with a plurality of longitudinal grooves. By the longitudinal grooves and the elasticity of the anchoring sleeve consisting of plastics material, the possibility is obtained of compensating for the enlargement of the drilled hole when a crack forms, thus making it possible for the anchoring means to be used in the zone subject to tensile forces.

The present invention relates to an anchoring means for anchoring by a bonding mass in a drilled hole in a concrete part.
More particularly, it relates to an anchoring means which each have a threaded bolt with an expansion cone surrounded by an anchoring sleeve which can be expanded by the expansion cone.
It is known, for anchoring a threaded rod by means of a bonding mass, to form a drilled hole which has an undercut in the region of the bottom of the drilled hole. Such an anchorage is described in DE-A-13 516 866. The fixing of this known anchoring means is effected in that there is pushed into the drilled hole a glass ampoule which contains a bonding mass of polyester resin, a hardener and additives. On insertion of the anchoring means into the drilled hole, the glass ampoule is destroyed and the components of the bonding mass are activated by mixing. After the bonding mass has hardened, the anchoring means is rigidly bonded and anchored in the drilled hole. The anchorage depends essentially on the adhesive bond between the bonding mass and the wall of the drilled hole. This bond, however, is reduced considerably if a crack runs through the anchorage point. Through the enlargement of the drilled hole as a result of the crack, the bonding mass becomes detached from the wall of the drilled hole so that in the straight shaft part of the anchoring means, only limited retaining forces still obtain. The known anchoring means has, however, a conical widening in the region of the undercut of the drilled hole, so that greater retaining forces still obtain there. These depend on the form of the undercut and on the proportion of the undercut region to the total length of the hole.
The production of an undercut drilled hole requires special tools and generally also a greater expenditure during the production of the drilled hole. For this reason, experiments have already been undertaken to reduce the sensitivity to cracks by means of special configurations of the bonded anchoring means in cylindrical drilled holes. Thus, for example, it was proposed to provide the threaded bolt of the anchoring means with a cone which, by means of a coating, is capable of sliding with respect to the hardened bonding agent core. The result which is intended to be achieved thereby is that the threaded bolt settles in the bonding agent core to compensate for the widening of the crack. Such settlement can of course only be achieved if the entire threaded bolt detaches itself with respect to the hardened bonding agent core. This of course results in a considerable reduction in the holding value. Moreover, the bonding agent core is not very stable under pressure, so that even with relatively limited forces, pulling of the threaded bolt through the bonding agent core occurs.
The problem on which the invention is based is that of providing an anchoring means for anchoring by means of a bonding mass in a cylindrical drilled hole in a concrete part, which has high safety reserves in the case of anchoring in the zone subject to tensile forces, and the widening of the drilled hole which arises as a result of the formation of cracks.

Anchoring means for anchoring by means of a bonding mass in a drilled hole in a concrete part

fischerwerke, Artur Fischer GmbH & Co. KG


A power steering apparatus includes an input shaft, an output shaft, a piston arranged to separate a first hydraulic chamber and a second hydraulic chamber, a ball screw mechanism, an output member, a control valve configured to supply hydraulic fluid selectively to the first hydraulic chamber through a first connecting passage and to the second hydraulic chamber through a second connecting passage, a first damper valve provided in the first connecting passage, a second damper valve provided in the second connecting passage, and a housing enclosing the piston. The housing is formed with a first valve receiving hole in which the first damper valve is disposed, and a second valve receiving hole in which the second damper valve is disposed.

The present invention relates to power steering apparatus for producing a steering assist force by hydraulic pressure.
A patent document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-55153) shows power steering apparatus including a housing, a power cylinder enclosing a piston, a control valve, a sector gear. A patent document 2 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,885 corresponding to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-219858) shows power steering apparatus including a steering damper valve provided in a cylinder.


A portable hand tool is provided for inserting a marker flag into the ground. The tool has a shaft (12) having a handle (30) attached at a first end, and a ground penetrating tip (14) extending from a second end. The ground penetrating tip has an aperture which extends longitudinally through shaft (12) and is adapted for receiving the stem portion of a marker flag. In operation, a portion (42) of the end of the flag stem is inserted in aperture (16). The flag stem is then bent back toward the tool shaft forming a U-shaped bend (44) in the flag stem. Following insertion into the ground, the bend acts as a barb to anchor the flag stem in the ground.

Many types of workers use flag markers for identifying the location of objects buried beneath the ground. For instance, surveyors, cable television workers, and utility company workers commonly use flag markers to locate wires, cables, and various other objects and structures in a variety of terrains. Regardless of the application, it is generally desirable to minimize the time and effort required for flag insertion, while maintaining adequate anchoring of the flag stem in the ground. Often, an insertion tool is required to implant the flags into the ground.
Historically, the use of cumbersome and heavy flag insert tools have contributed to the time and effort required to insert these markers in the ground. More recently, there has been a recognized need for a more lightweight portable marker flag insertion tool. One such tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,814 to Smith. As illustrated in FIG. 1, Smith discloses a multiple component flag insert tool including an inner rod, an outer rod, and a pair of collars. The inner rod has a V-shaped notch at one end. The collars are welded to the inner rod. The outer rod is slidably mounted between the collars. In operation, Smith's insertion tool requires the user to initially insert the flag stem through an aperture in the inner rod to form an L-shaped bend at the end of the stem. Subsequently, the flag stem is removed from the aperture and the horizontal length of the flag stem positioned on the ground beneath the V-shaped notch. Driving the flag stem into the ground requires the repeated raising and lowering of the outer rod to exert a pounding force against the lower collar.
Although Smith's insertion tool provides a number of advantages over those historically used, it leaves much room for improvement. In particular, the relatively large surface area,of the V-shaped insertion end of the tool provides an ineffective surface for penetrating the ground, resulting in the need for the repeated pounding force of the outer rod against the lower collar to drive the flag stem into the ground. In use, the tool requires a multi-step flag insertion method which adds to its inefficiency. Furthermore, the multi-component construction of the tool contributes to increased tool manufacturing time and cost.
For the foregoing reasons, a need exists for an improved portable flag insertion tool that provides a more effective and more efficient means for flag marker insertion. It would be desirable to provide such a tool having a minimal number of individual components such that the tool can be manufactured in a more time- and cost-effective manner.


An annular plug portion (21) projects from a clamp pallet (2). An annular shuttle member (23) is supported by the plug portion (21) to be movable in the vertical direction. A work pallet (3) is provided with a tapered inner peripheral surface (12) which makes an engagement with a tapered outer peripheral surface (28) of the shuttle member (23). A transmission member (29) is inserted into an upper portion of a cylindrical hole (21a) of the plug portion (21), while a rod (31) is inserted into a lower portion of the cylindrical hole (21a). When the rod (31) is driven downward for clamping, an output portion (36) of the rod (31) moves the work pallet (3) downward through engaging balls (34) to form a transmission gap (G) between a pushing portion (31a) of the upper end of the rod (31) and a pressure receiving portion (29b) of the transmission member (29). When the rod (31) is driven upwards for unclamping, the pushing portion (31a) pushes upwards the work pallet (3) through the transmission member (29).

There is a conventional technique recited in Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 07-314270 as an example of the clamping apparatus of this type. This prior art is mainly used to detachably fix a pallet to an upper surface of a table of a machine tool, and constructed as follows.
An annular plug portion projects upwards from the table with a tapered outer peripheral surface which narrows toward its leading end. On the other hand, the palette is provided with a tapered inner peripheral surface which engages with the tapered outer peripheral surface of the plug portion. In the clamping operation, a rod inserted into the plug portion is driven upwards. Then, the output portion of the rod pushes the pallet downwards through a plurality of engaging balls so that the tapered inner peripheral surface of the pallet makes an engagement with the tapered outer peripheral surface of the plug portion.
In the case of the prior art, once the pallet makes a strong tapering engagement with the table in the clamping operation, it becomes too difficult to release the tapering engagement in the unclamping operation, and therefore the pallet cannot be separated from the table.
The present invention aims at providing a clamping apparatus with which a movable member such as a pallet can be easily separated from a reference member such as a table, and at manufacturing such a clamping apparatus in a compact design.


A mask for use in compressed sensing of incoming radiation includes a material that modulates an intensity of incoming radiation, a plurality of mask aperture regions, and one or more axes of rotational symmetry with respect to the mask aperture regions. Each mask aperture region includes at least one mask aperture that allows a higher transmission of the incoming radiation relative to other portions of the mask aperture region. The relative transmission sufficient to allow a reconstruction of compressed sensing measurements and has a shape that provides a symmetry under rotation about the one or more axes of rotational symmetry. A mutual coherence of a sensing matrix generated by a rotation of the plurality of mask aperture regions is less than one. An imaging system for compressed sensing of incoming radiation including such a mask is also provided.

WO 2015/176115 discloses a mask apparatus for use in compressed sensing of incoming radiation, such as gamma-ray radiation. The mask apparatus comprises one or more coded masks, each of the masks having a body of a material that modulates the intensity of the incoming radiation. The masks have a plurality of mask aperture regions that allow a higher transmission of the radiation relative to other portions of the one or more coded masks sufficient to allow compressed sensing measurements. WO 2015/176115 illustrates, for example, a nested pair of spherical, hemispherical or cylindrical masks, and a spherical mask nested within a hemispherical mask.

Compressive imaging method and system comprising a detector, a mask, and a drive for rotating the mask about at least one of one or more axes of rotational symmetry

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation


Compounds are provided having Formula (I):

Cancer is a leading cause of death throughout the world. A limitation of prevailing therapeutic approaches, e.g. chemotherapy is that their cytotoxic effects are not restricted to cancer cells and adverse side effects can occur within normal tissues. Consequently, novel strategies are urgently needed to better target cancer cells.
Synthetic lethality arises when a combination of deficiencies in the expression of two or more genes leads to cell death, whereas a deficiency in only one of these genes does not. The concept of synthetic lethality originates from studies in Drosophila model systems in which a combination of mutations in two or more separate genes leads to cell death (in contrast to viability, which occurs when only one of the genes is mutated or deleted). More recently, a multitude of studies have explored maladaptive genetic changes in cancer cells that render them vulnerable to synthetic-lethality approaches. These tumor-specific genetic defects lead to the use of targeted agents that induce the death of tumor cells while sparing normal cells.
Disruptions in DNA repair pathways predispose cells to accumulating DNA damage. Various types of tumors are known to accumulate progressively more mutations in DNA repair proteins as cancers progress. Therefore, pathways involved DNA repair mechanisms can be targeted by cytotoxic treatments based on synthetic lethality, turning dysregulated repair processes against themselves to induce tumor death.
DNA repair pathways are dependent on a variety of enzymes which include, among others, nucleases that cleave the phosphodiester backbones of DNA and RNA. Nucleases have evolved diverse mechanisms for recognizing and cleaving nucleic acids of specific sequence (e.g., restriction endonucleases), length (e.g., Dicer cleavage of RNA), or structure (e.g., Mre11 nuclease processing of DNA double-strand breaks). The structure-specific nucleases include a conserved superfamily of endo and exonucleases whose eukaryotic members comprise FEN1, EXO1, GEN1, and XPG; also referred to herein as the FEN1 Superfamily.
Flap endonuclease 1 or FEN1 protein removes 5′ overhanging "flaps" (or short sections of single stranded DNA that hang off because their nucleotide bases are inhibited from binding to their complementary base pair) in DNA repair and processes the 5′ ends of Okazaki fragments in lagging strand DNA synthesis. Direct physical interaction between FEN1 and AP endonuclease 1 during long-patch base excision repair provides coordinated loading of the proteins onto the substrate, thus passing the substrate from one enzyme to another.
FEN1 protein has important functions as revealed by the fact that mutations in its gene resulted in cellular stress and genome instability. In addition, studies of genetic interactions from yeast and human cells, which evaluated a synthetic lethal interaction network comprised of chromosome instability (CIN) genes that are frequently mutated in colorectal cancer, found that FEN1 inhibition is synthetically lethal with several CIN genes (McManus et al, 2009; van Pel et al, PLOs Genetics, 2013; Ward et al, PLOS One, 2017. Given the necessary roles in the critical process of DNA repair as well as its broad and evolutionarily conserved genetic interaction to other CIN genes, FEN1 can be an effective target for anticancer therapeutic development especially that is based on synthetic lethality approaches.
EXO1 is required for a type of DNA damage repair known as mismatch repair (MMR) (Goellner et al, 2015 DNA Repair doi:10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.04.010). Defects in MMR are a cause of micro-satellite instability, prevalent in certain cancers, such as, but not limited to, colorectal cancer. Cancers with defects in MMR are more responsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as PD-1 (D. T. Le et al., Science 10.1126/science.aan6733 (2017)). As such, inhibition of EXO1 may enhance the activity of checkpoint inhibitors. In addition, EXO1 may exhibit synthetic lethality with other DNA damage repair defects common in cancer such as homologous recombination or base excision repair. Finally, EXO1 is required for the repair of DNA that has been damaged by DNA methylating chemotherapeutic agents such as temozolamide or cyclophosphamide (Izumchenko et al, 2012 DNA Repair, doi:10.1016/j.dnarep.2012.09.004), and therefore may enhance the activity in combination with any or all of these agents. These observations indicate that inhibition of EXO1 may be an effective strategy for cancer therapy in a synthetic lethal approach, and as a combination with chemotherapy and immune-oncology agents such as checkpoint inhibitors.
XPG is encoded by the ERCC5 gene. In humans, mutations in ERCC5 can result in xeroderma pigmentosum or Cockayne syndrome. XPG is required for nucleotide excision repair (NER), a pathway that repairs bulky, helix-distorting lesions caused by UV irradiation and chemical mutagens that crosslink adjacent purine bases and form intrastrand adducts. Inhibition of this pathway has been shown to sensitize cells to radiation and the platin family of chemotherapy agents carboplatin, cisplatin, oxaliplatin (Kelley et al, Future Oncology, 2014 doi:10.2217/fon.14.60). These studies suggest that inhibition of XPG could be an effective strategy for treating cancer in a synthetic lethal setting in cancers with defects in other DNA damage repair pathways and in combination with radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Abstract: wherein R, R1, Cyc and A have the meanings provided herein. The compounds have utility in the treatment of diseases, either alone or in combination with other agents.


A particle beam irradiation system comprises deflection electromagnets which scan by deflecting the particle beam in two dimensions in the lateral direction which is perpendicular to an irradiation direction of the particle beam, and an energy width expanding device through which the particle beam passes so as to expand an energy width of the particle beam and form a SOBP in a depth direction of the irradiation target, that is, in an irradiation direction of the particle beam, wherein the energy width expanding device is configured to form the SOBP in the depth direction along whole irradiation area in the depth direction of the irradiation target, and the deflection electromagnets are controlled so as for an irradiation spot which is formed in the irradiation target by the particle beam to move stepwise along whole irradiation area in the lateral direction of the irradiation target.

The treatment of a cancer is one of applications of radiation. Recently, a particle beam treatment in which a heavy particle beam such as a proton beam or a carbon beam is irradiated onto the cancer cell has been attracted attention. First of all, the characteristic of a particle beam irradiation in which a particle beam is irradiated to kill a cancer cell will be described. In a case where various kinds of irradiation beams are irradiated onto a human body, the dose distribution of the irradiation beam in the human body changes as shown in FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 15, among various kinds of irradiations, a photon beam such as an X-ray or a gamma ray, has a relative dose which becomes maximum in a portion close to the surface of the body, and is decreased as the depth from the surface of the body is increased. On the other hand, a particle beam, such as a proton beam or a carbon beam, has a relative dose which has a peak value at a position where the beam stops at a deep portion from the surface of the body, that is, immediately before the range of the particle beam. This peak value is called the Bragg Peak (BP).
Particle beam cancer treatment is such that this Bragg peak BP is irradiated to a tumor formed in a human organ and the treatment of the cancer is performed. In addition to the cancer, it can also be used for a case where a deep portion of a body is treated. A region to be treated, including a tumor, is generally called an irradiation target. The position of the Bragg peak BP is determined by the energy of an irradiated particle beam, and as the energy of the particle beam becomes higher, the Bragg peak BP is formed at a deeper position. In the particle beam treatment, it is required to provide uniform distribution of dose of a particle beam in whole region of an irradiation target. In order to give the Bragg peak BP to the whole region of the irradiation target, "spread of the irradiation volume" of the particle beam is performed.
This "spread of the irradiation volume" is performed in three directions of an X-axis, a Y-axis and a Z axis perpendicular to each other. When an irradiation direction of a particle beam is set to be a direction of the Z-axis, "spread of the irradiation volume" is first performed so as to spread the irradiation field in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and since the irradiation field spread is performed in a lateral direction perpendicular to a depth direction, it is generally called the irradiation field spread. The second "spread of irradiation volume" is performed in the Z-axis, and it is called the irradiation volume spread in a depth direction.
The irradiation volume spread in a depth direction is performed to spread the Bragg peak BP in an irradiation direction of a particle beam to a depth direction since the width of the Bragg peak BP in an irradiation direction of a particle beam is narrow as compared with the extent of an irradiation target in a depth direction. On the other hand, the irradiation field spread in a lateral direction is performed to spread the irradiation field in the Bragg peak BP in a direction perpendicular to an irradiation direction since the diameter of a particle beam, which is accelerated by an accelerator generally, is smaller than the size of an irradiation target in a direction perpendicular to an irradiation direction. With respect to the irradiation volume spread in a depth direction and the irradiation field spread in a lateral direction, various kinds of methods have been proposed so far. Recently, Scanning Irradiation has attracted attention.
In Scanning Irradiation, as an irradiation field spread method in a lateral direction, there is a method in which a deflection electromagnet provided at the upstream portion of a particle beam irradiation part of a particle beam treatment device is used to scan a particle beam in the XY plane, and an irradiation position of the particle beam is moved with the lapse of time to obtain a wide irradiation field. In this method, a uniform dose distribution can be obtained by suitably overlapping adjacent irradiation spots of pencil beams having a small diameter. Scanning methods of a pencil beam include a raster method of performing scanning continuously with respect to time, a spot method of performing a step-like scanning with respect to time and a method combining the raster method and the spot method.
As the irradiation volume spread method in the depth direction, there is a method in which the energy of a particle beam itself which is irradiated from a particle beam treatment device is controlled. In this method, the energy of a particle beam is controlled by changing the acceleration energy of an accelerator which accelerates the particle beam, or the energy of a particle beam is changed by inserting a tool called a range shifter so as to cross the particle beam. There is also a method in which both the control by the accelerator and the range filter are used.
In the irradiation volume spread method in the depth direction, a particle beam is made to have the energy of specified intensity, after one of irradiation layers of an irradiation target volume is irradiated with the Bragg peak BP, the energy of the particle beam is changed, and next irradiation layer of the irradiation target volume is irradiated with the Bragg peak BP. Such operation is repeated plural times so as for plural irradiation layers to be irradiated with the Bragg peak BP of the particle beam. Consequently, the Spread-out Bragg peak SOBP having a desired width in a beam irradiation direction can be obtained. (For example, Patent Document 1)
A particle beam irradiation method which is made by combining the irradiation field spread method in a lateral direction and the irradiation volume spread method in a depth direction is called Scanning Irradiation.
Further, a method in which irradiation is performed at the same spot position for plural times with time-wise dividing at each irradiation layer so as to compensate the deviation of irradiation caused by moving of a position of affected site due to a patient's breathing, is proposed (For example, Patent Document 2, FIG. 11). Further, in the Patent Document 2, a technique, for controlling the irradiation dose by synchronizing with a breathing phase in consideration of the moving of an affected site caused by breathing, is also proposed.


An organic electroluminescence structure comprises a first substrate, an organic electroluminescence device, and a control device. Forming either a lifting layer under the control device or a recess under the organic electroluminescence device, or forming both of them, creates a difference between their tops, in order to reduce the dark spots and promote the yield of the end product. The lifting layer preferably has a thickness greater than about 0.5 micro meters and the recess has a depth ranges of about 0.1 micro meters to about 100 micro meters. Alternatively, the height difference between the upper surfaces of the control device and the organic electroluminescence device is controlled to be greater than about 2 micro meters or substantially equal to 2 micro meters.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescence structure, more particularly, to the organic electroluminescence structure which may reduce or eliminate dark spots occurring thereon.
2. Descriptions of the Related Art
The basic structure of an organic electroluminescence device (OELD) is schematically shown in FIG. 1. The OLED structure comprises a plurality of signal lines formed on a substrate. Commonly, the signal lines are constituted by a plurality of scan lines 15 and data lines 17, thereby defining a plurality of pixel areas 10 on the substrate. Each of the pixel areas 10 has a thin-film-transistor (TFT) and an OELD 13 disposed thereon. The scan lines 15 and the data lines 17 are utilized to control the image display of the pixel areas 10.
In comparison with liquid crystal displays (LCDs), an OELD display is capable of self-luminescence, and can perform higher contrast, and a wider viewing angle. The OLED is more compact in size and light in weight. It also performs a shorter response time. All of these advantages are brought from the structure without backlight module. On current trends, the OELD is going to be the most potential key technology in the field of the display.
However, OELD displays may encounter problems due to the failures in its manufacturing processes. For example, because the first and second substrates (usually named "a cover substrate") are disposed very close to each other, they may bend to be in contact with each other due to external forces or self-weights during manufacturing processes. Once there are particles existing between the substrates, the aforementioned contact is more likely to damage the OELD layer. The luminescence structure of the pixel areas would tend to be damaged, whereby occurring dark spots on the product.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the pixel area 10 between the first substrate 21 and the second substrate 23. Apparently, the pixel area 10 comprises a non-luminescence portion (i.e. where the TFT and the control device are located) and a luminescence portion (i.e. light penetrable area), wherein the non-luminescence portion is formed with a height relevant to the luminescence portion. When an impurities or a particle 25 is attached onto the upper surface of the non-luminescence portion, it is very possible that the second substrate 23 exerts a force to the particle 25 and produces stresses onto an OELD layer 24. If the stresses transit down to the luminescence portion, the OELD 13 at the luminescence portion would likely be damaged. The flaw as presented for the luminescence function is usually called a "dark spot."
In convention, increasing the thickness of each layer on the non-luminescence portion that results in the TFT 11 having a greater height is considered. The greater height of the TFT 11 may acquire a delay of the damage to the OELD layer 24. However, it would give rise to altering numerous manufacturing processes, influencing the yields, and increasing manufacturing costs. The way is not preferably exercised in the industry.
Given the above, providing an organic electroluminescence structure for promoting yields and reliabilities of products needs to be developed in this field.

Organic electroluminescence structure having a height difference between surfaces of a control device and an organic electroluminescence device


A micrometer-scale ion trap, fabricated on a monolithic chip using semiconductor micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. A single 111Cd+ ion is confined, laser cooled, and the heating measured in an integrated radiofrequency trap etched from a doped gallium arsenide (GaAs) heterostructure. Single 111Cd+ qubit ions are confined in a radiofrequency linear ion trap on a semiconductor chip by applying a combination of static and oscillating electric potentials to integrated electrodes. The electrodes are lithographically patterned from a monolithic semiconductor substrate, eliminating the need for manual assembly and alignment of individual electrodes. The scaling of this structure to hundreds or thousands of electrodes is possible with existing semiconductor fabrication technology.

Ions, or charged atomic particles, can be confined and suspended in free space using electromagnetic fields. Quantum bits ("qubits") are stored in stable electronic states of each ion, and quantum information can be processed and transferred through the collective quantized motion of the ions in the trap (e.g., interacting through the Coulomb force). Lasers are applied to induce coupling between the qubit states (e.g., for single qubit operations) or coupling between the internal qubit states and the external motional states (e.g., for entanglement between qubits).
Current ion trap research is largely driven by the quest to construct a quantum information processor, where qubits of information are stored in individual atomic ions and connected through a common interaction with a phonon or photon field. The fundamental experimental requirements for quantum processing have all been met with ion traps, including demonstrations of multi-qubit quantum gates and small algorithms.
The fundamental operations of a quantum computer have been demonstrated experimentally with high accuracy (or "high fidelity" in quantum computing language) in trapped ion systems, and a strategy has been developed for scaling the system to arbitrarily large number of qubits by shuttling ions in an array of ion traps. This makes trapped ion systems one of the most promising architectures for a scalable, universal quantum information processor, as well as for the development of miniature mass spectrometer arrays, compact atomic clocks. Work on miniaturizing electromagnetic traps to the micrometer scale promises even higher levels of control and reliability.
The considerations with respect to the construction and operation of a quantum information processor include the following.
The first consideration concerns qubits. Any two-level quantum system can form a qubit, and there are two ways to form a qubit using the electronic states of an ion. First, the use of two ground state hyperfine levels (these are called "hyperfine qubits"). Second, the use of a ground state level and an excited level (these are called the "optical qubits"). Hyperfine qubits are extremely long-lived (e.g., decay time on the order of thousands to millions of years) and phase/frequency stable (e.g., have traditionally been used for atomic frequency standards). Optical qubits are also relatively long-lived (e.g., decay time on the order of a second) compared to the logic gate operation time (e.g., on the order of microseconds). However, each type of qubit poses its own challenges in the laboratory.
The second consideration concerns initialization. Ions can be prepared in a specific qubit state using a process called optical pumping. A laser couples the ion to some excited states which eventually decays to one state which is not coupled to by the laser. Once the ion reaches that state, it has no excited levels to couple to in the presence of that laser and therefore remains in that state. If the ion somehow decays to one of the other states, the laser will continue to excite the ion until it decays to the state that does not interact with the laser. This initialization process is standard in many physics experiments and can be performed with extremely high fidelity (e.g., >99.9%).
The third consideration concerns measurement. Measuring the state of the qubit stored in an ion is quite simple. Typically, a laser is applied to the ion that couples only one of the qubit state. When the ion is collapsed into this state during the measurement process, the laser will excite it, resulting in a photon being released when the ion decays from the excited state. After decay, the ion is continually excited by the laser and repeatedly emitting photons. These photons can be collected by a photomultiplier tube ("PMT") or a charge-coupled device ("CCD") camera. If the ion is collapsed into the other qubit state, then it does not interact with the laser and no photon will be emitted. By counting the collected photons, it is easy to determine which state the ion is in with very high accuracy (e.g., >99.9%).
The fourth consideration concerns arbitrary single qubit rotation. One of the requirements of universal quantum computing is to coherently change the state of a single qubit. For example, this can transform a qubit starting out in 0 into any arbitrary superposition of 0 and 1 defined by the user. In trapped ion systems, this is often done using magnetic dipole transitions or stimulated Raman transitions for hyperfine qubits, and electric quadrupole transitions for optical qubits. Gate fidelity can be as high as >99%.
The fifth consideration concerns two qubit entangling gates. Besides the controlled-NOT gate, many equivalent but more robust schemes have been proposed and implemented experimentally. Recent theoretical work has shown that there are no fundamental limitations to the speed of entangling gates, but gates in this impulsive regime (e.g., faster than 1 microsecond) have not yet been demonstrated experimentally (e.g., current gate time is on the order of microseconds). The fidelity of these implementations have been as high as >97%.
The sixth consideration concerns scalable trap designs. Efforts in this area are now focused on the scaling of ion traps to host much larger numbers of qubits, perhaps by shuttling individual atoms through a complex maze of ion trap electrodes. For example, several groups have successfully fabricated ion traps with multiple trap regions and have shuttled ions between different trap zones. Thus, ions can be separated from the same interaction region to individual storage regions and brought back together without losing the quantum information stored in their internal states. Ions can also be made to turn corners at a "T" junction, allowing a two dimensional trap array design.
Although ions traps present a great deal of promise, especially with respect to quantum information processing and computing, they still must overcome significant manufacturing and scalability issues that have greatly limited their overall use and effectiveness.
Accordingly, there exists a need for new and improved ion traps and methods for making the same, especially those that are suitable for use in conjunction with quantum information processing and computing.

The Regents of the University of Michigan


The invention provides methods of prognosing and classifying lung cancer patients into poor survival groups or good survival groups. The invention also includes kits for use in the methods of the invention.

Non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) represent approximately 80% of lung cancers, with a dismal 5-year survival rate of 15%.1 Tumor stage remains the strongest predictor of survival for these patients.2 Early-stage (I to II) patients are treated primarily by complete surgical resection. However, 30-55% of these patients develop recurrence and die of the disease,2, 3 implying that biological heterogeneity exists in patients and their tumors. Recent Phase 3 trials have established that adjuvant chemotherapy can significantly improve the survival of at least stage II-IIIA patients.4-8 Therefore, identification of additional markers that may accurately classify early stage NSCLC patients into significantly different prognostic groups would improve the selection algorithm for patients to receive adjuvant therapy. To date, neither tumor histological features nor the >50 potential cancer-associated proteins that have been investigated could serve as such a marker.9, 10
Several NSCLC mRNA expression microarray studies have identified gene signatures that could subgroup patients into meaningful prognostic groups.11-16 However, these putative prognostic gene lists are characterized more by discordance than concordance (FIG. 1A). Cross-study analyses of the datasets using different statistical approaches or validation using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays in an independent patient cohort have generated additional and different lists.17-19 Such discordances may be attributed to insufficiently-powered studies,20 and to variability in patient cohorts, expression profiling platforms or statistical methodologies. Further efforts to validate the prognostic value of these putative markers in large independent tumour/patient cohorts have been lacking.
There is a need to identify candidate markers to classify NSCLC patents into meaningful prognostic groups.

Materials and methods for prognosing lung cancer survival


An elevator cage including a cage frame, a cage chamber fixed on the cage frame, and a liquid vibration absorber fixed between the cage chamber and the cage frame. The liquid vibration absorber includes a first liquid chamber and a second liquid chamber, and the inner volumes of the first and second liquid chambers are variable according to elastic deformation, respectively. The liquid vibration absorber further includes an orifice portion communicating between the first and second liquid chambers and a liquid filled inside of the first and second liquid chambers and the orifice portion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an elevator cage, and more particularly to an elevator cage which can reduce the vibration transmitted to a cage chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing one example of a conventional elevator cage and shows the state of an elevator cage guided by guide rails suspended in the hoistway.
In FIG. 8, a cage frame 2, of which details are omitted here, composing an elevator cage 1 is suspended by a main rope 5 between a pair of guide rails 6 formed in the T-shaped section that are provided vertically on the inner wall surfaces of the hoistway.
On a lower beam 2a at the lower end of age frame 2, four rubber vibration isolators 4 are fixed. A cage chamber 3, of which details are omitted here, is placed on rubber vibration isolators 4 in such a way that on the upper surfaces of rubber vibration isolators 4 the cage floor at the lower end of cage chamber 3 is placed.
There are rubber vibration isolators 7, of which details are omitted here, mounted symmetrically between the upper sides of cage chamber 3 and vertical beams 2b of cage frame 2, respectively.
At the left and right of the upper and lower ends of cage frame 2, guide rollers 8 are mounted symmetrically and are kept in contact with both sides and the top of guide rails 6, respectively. At the center of an upper beam 2c of cage frame 2, a main rope fixing bar (not shown) is penetrating upper beam 2c, and the lower end of main rope 5 is connected to the top end of this main rope fixing bar.
The upper end of main rope 5 is wound round a lifting wheel of a hoist (not shown) installed in a machine room formed on the top of the hoistway and then, hang down the hoistway. A balance weight (not shown) is attached to and is suspended from the other lower end of main rope 5.
In elevator cage 1 in this structure, the vibration is transmitted to lower beam 2a from guide rollers 8 rotating on guide rails 6. In order to reduce the vibration transmitted to cage chamber 3 from lower beam 2a, rubber vibration isolators 4 are incorporated into cage frame 2.
There are various causes for guide rollers 8 to vibrate, for instance, a slight difference in levels at the connecting portions of guide rails 6, slight meanders of guide rails 6. The vibration from a hoist that is transmitted from main rope 5 etc. is also transmitted to cage frame 2.
Therefore, rubber vibration isolators 4 are provided between lower beam 2a and the cage floor, and rubber material is also used for rubber vibration isolators 7 and guide rollers 8, thereby to reduce uncomfortable riding feeling of cage passengers.
For elevator cage 1 in such structure as described above, in particular, for elevator of which speed is accelerated at higher head, it is demanded to improve more comfortable riding quality by further reducing vibration transmitted to cage chamber 3.


High-energy pulses of femtosecond lasers form cladding portions of waveguides in bulk glass by producing localized reductions in refractive index. The cladding portions written by the high-energy pulses circumscribe unexposed core portions for defining light-guiding pathways in the bulk glass.

The writing of optical waveguides (i.e., light-guiding or light-managing structures) embedded within glass is accomplished by focusing high energy pulses within the glass and relatively translating the pulses with respect to the glass. The high-energy pulses have wavelengths beyond the absorption edge (optical density of unity) of the glass, but are focused to power densities within the glass at which the glass undergoes a change in refractive index. Thus, the pulses can penetrate the glass without dispersing their energy or damaging the glass, but can be focused to threshold power densities at which localized portions of the glass undergoes a transformation that changes the local refractive index of the glass.
The pulses are delivered in beams that are focused to near the diffraction limit to concentrate pulse energies within limited spot sizes. The resulting refractive index changes are centered at the spot focus of the beams. The spot focus can be relatively translated to produce modified-index tracks through bulk glasses. Index increases in the range of 1×10−3 to 5×10−3 have been found sufficient to support waveguiding properties along the tracks, which function as the cores of waveguides.
Two writing regimes have emerged for writing within different types of glass materials. One, which relies on amplified femtosecond pulse sources, operates at pulse energies in the microjoule (μJ) range and at repetition rates in the kilohertz (kHz) range. Another, which relies on femtosecond laser oscillators, operates at pulse energies in the nanojoule (nJ) range and at repetition rates in the megahertz (MHz) range. In both regimes, non-linear absorption mechanisms are believed responsible for producing localized increases in refractive index.
Of the two regimes, cores can be written most effectively in silica-based glasses using amplified femtosecond pulse sources. Femtosecond laser oscillators can write waveguides more effectively in materials such as borosilicate, sulfide, and lead glasses. However, in both instances, the desired localized increases in refractive index tend to be self-limiting in the range of a multiple of 10−3.
The spot focuses of the femtosecond lasers generally produce small diameter cores of around 2 microns (μm) to 3 microns (μm). Given the index change on the order of 10−3, the waveguiding properties of the small diameter waveguides are relatively weak. Where, as here, both the index difference and the waveguide diameter are comparatively small, a substantial portion of the signal is carried in the surrounding medium (e.g., a cladding) of the waveguide. Signal losses are larger for signals that significantly encroach upon the surrounding medium. Bending losses associated with such weak waveguiding properties limit the minimum radius of curvature through which the waveguides can be bent during use.
Co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,751 entitled Manipulating the Size of Waveguides Written into Substrates using Femtosecond Pulses, which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes additional motions for enlarging the core areas of waveguides to improve light-guiding efficiency. However, other consequences of enlarged diameters include different requirements for coupling to the waveguides and transmission of additional modes.

Laser-written cladding for waveguide formations in glass


A liquid crystal display apparatus includes: a liquid crystal display device; an illumination device for irradiating the liquid crystal display device with collimated light; and a control device for electrically controlling a direction of travel of light going out from or entering the liquid crystal display device, thereby having adjustable viewing angle characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal (LC) display apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an LC display apparatus incorporating an LC display device with controllable viewing angle characteristics. The present invention also relates to an LC display apparatus in which highly-collimated light is emitted toward an LC display device thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art:
LC display apparatuses are widely employed as digit segment type display devices for clocks and calculators and as display devices for displaying general images. A number of types of LC display devices to be incorporated in LC display apparatuses are known. For example, one type of LC display device includes active elements, e.g., TFTs (thin film transistors), provided on a light-transmitting substrate, the active elements functioning as switching means for selecting pixel electrodes for applying a voltage to liquid crystal. Another type of LC display device is characterized by including color filter layers of red, green, blue, or the like are provided as color display means.
Since LC display devices consume relatively little power, they are often employed as display devices for mobile or portable appliances, e.g., laptop-type personal computers and word processors. An LC display device can adopt any one of various display modes. Examples of display modes which utilize electrooptical effects include a TN (twisted nematic) mode, an STN (super twisted nematic) mode, an ECB (electrically controlled birefringence) mode, and an OCB (optically compensated birefringence) mode.
An active driving type TN liquid crystal display mode includes liquid crystal molecules twisted at a twist angle of 90.degree.. A multiplex driving type STN liquid crystal display mode includes liquid crystal molecules which are twisted at a twist angle of 90.degree. or more so as to utilize the steepness transmittance/voltage (applied to the liquid crystal) characteristics.
TN type LC display devices and STN type LC display devices are known to have display characteristics problems that are inherent within their display principles. Specifically, in an LC display device of either a TN or STN mode, the angle or direction in which liquid crystal molecules can be observed when a voltage is applied is uniquely determined by the ideal viewing angle prescribed for each device. Thus, as the viewing angle is tilted with respect to the orthogonal direction (which defines the ideal viewing angle), the light transmittance varies accordingly. This phenomenon is especially marked in gray scale tones. Therefore, the acceptable range of viewing angles is considerably limited in the case of the TN and STN modes.
Conventional techniques for improving the viewing angle characteristics of such LC display devices have been proposed. One technique alters the orientation state of liquid crystal in the cell. Another technique broadens the extent of the light on the viewer's side (as controlled by an illumination system) by utilizing the frontal (orthogonal) characteristics of a TN type LC display device. There has also been proposed a polymer dispersed type LC display device, which performs a display function by controlling the transmitted light based on light scattering control. This method provides relatively broad viewing angle characteristics in the case of a scatter type LC display device because the contrast of the display screen does not depend on the relationship between the orientation direction of the liquid crystal molecules and the direction of observation.
First, the conventional technique for improving viewing angle characteristics by altering the orientation state of the liquid crystal molecules in the cell is described. In order to improve the viewing angle characteristics of an LC display device incorporating polarizing plates by this method, it is necessary to ensure that the liquid crystal molecules are oriented in at least two different directions within each pixel.
FIG. 1A schematically shows liquid crystal molecules being oriented in two directions within a region of a LC layer that corresponds to each pixel. While displaying a gray scale tone in this orientation state, the transmittance (refractive index) when the LC layer is viewed in direction 1a and that when the LC layer is viewed in direction 1b are averaged to become substantially equal. As a result, the viewing angle characteristics are improved as compared with the characteristics of the conventional TN mode illustrated in FIG. 1B. In FIG. 1B, the liquid crystal molecules are tilted in the same direction when displaying a gray scale tone, so that the apparent refractive index differs depending on whether the LC display device is viewed in direction 1a or direction 1b. This results in a large difference in contrast depending on whether the LC display device is viewed in direction 1a or direction 1b. Consequently, display problems such as an inversion of white/black or hue may occur.
Specific examples of attempts to obtain broad viewing angle characteristics include the following.
First, examples of attempts to improve the viewing angle characteristics based on the structure inside the LC display device (LC layer) are described in the following paragraphs (numbered (1)-(6)):
(1) A method has been proposed for electrically controlling the transparent state and the white state of liquid crystal by utilizing the birefringence of the liquid crystal. An LC layer includes a liquid crystal region and a support medium (polymer wall). The LC display device does not require any polarizing plates or alignment treatments. In principle, this method ensures that the ordinary light refractive index of the liquid crystal molecules coincides with the refractive index of the support medium so that a transparent state is displayed when a voltage is applied to align the liquid crystal molecules and a scattering state is displayed when no voltage is applied so as to allow the liquid crystal molecules to be randomly oriented (scattered type).
As an example of this method, Japanese laid open National Patent Publication No.61-502128, for example, discloses a method in which a liquid crystal and a photocurable or thermocurable resin are mixed together and the resin is thereafter cured by the application of light or heat so that liquid crystal regions are deposited, thereby forming liquid crystal droplets within the resin.
Furthermore, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publications Nos. 4-338923 and 4-212928 disclose techniques concerning a broad viewing angle mode LC display device which incorporates the above-mentioned LC display device along with polarizers.
(2) A method for improving the viewing angle characteristics of a non-scattering type LC display device using a polarizer is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 5-27242. This method subjects a mixture of the liquid crystal and a photocurable resin to a phase separation to obtain a composite material of a liquid crystal and a polymer. According to this method, the orientation state of the liquid crystal molecules in each liquid crystal region becomes random due to the produced polymer disturbing the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules. Therefore, the liquid crystal molecules stand in different directions in each minute domain in each liquid crystal region including randomly-oriented liquid crystal molecules, so that the average value of the transmittance in that state becomes substantially identical regardless of the viewing direction. As a result, the viewing angle characteristics when displaying a gray scale tone are improved.
(3) Recently, the inventors of the present invention have proposed a method for orienting liquid crystal molecules in an omnidirectional manner (e.g., in a spiral shape) within each pixel region by controlling the intensity of light irradiated for photopolymerizing a mixture including a liquid crystal and a photopolymerizable resin by means of a photomask or the like (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.7-120728). According to this method, the liquid crystal molecules are voltage-controlled so that the spiral orientation shifts to a homeotropic orientation without ruining its omnidirectionality. As a result, the angle dependence of display is alleviated, whereby the viewing angle characteristics of the LC display device are remarkably improved.
(4) The inventors of the present invention have also proposed an LC display device in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.6-308496, which incorporates a crystalline polymer film having spherulites formed therein as an alignment film. As a result, the liquid crystal molecules are axially symmetrically oriented so as to realize a broad viewing angle characteristics mode. As used herein, a spherulite is defined as a spherical polycrystal in which a number of minute crystals (crystallets) are radially aligned with respect to a center.
(5) Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.6-194655 discloses a method for randomly orienting liquid crystal molecules by applying an alignment film on a substrate without performing any alignment treatments (e.g., rubbing) for the alignment film.
(6) Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.57-186735 discloses a method for aligning the liquid crystal molecules in a plurality of regions into which each pixel is divided so that the orientation states of the respective divided regions compensate for one another to realize broad viewing characteristics.
Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.5-72529 discloses an LC display device utilizing the optical rotatory power and birefringence of a TN liquid crystal or the like which includes an LC layer for controlling the light scattering, as well as an apparatus and a system incorporating the LC display device. The luminance, hue, and contrast ratio of the LC display device are disclosed as having a small viewing angle dependence. This LC display device attains viewing angle characteristics similar to the viewing angle characteristics of the conventional TN liquid crystal when a voltage is applied to the additional LC layer so as to attenuate light scattering (i.e., a light transmitting state), and hence the LC display apparatus becomes difficult to be seen by anyone other than the user thereof.
Next, an example of an attempt to improve the viewing characteristics by controlling light in an illumination system and on the viewer's side, rather than based on the structure inside the LC display device (LC layer) is described.
SID 95 DIGEST, 36.2 (p.793-796) reports a method for collimating light which enters an LC display device and further broadening the extent of light coming out through the front face of the LC display device on the viewer's side. According to this method, light entering the LC cell is substantially collimated by using an optical filter for controlling the direction of the travel of light (e.g., a directional optical filter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,898) or the like. Furthermore, a sheet capable of diffusing light is provided on the viewer's side (i.e., the side through which the light comes out of the LC cell) of the display device. According to this method, the incident light substantially vertically travels through the LC display device (e.g., the TN mode or the STN mode), so that a high contrast is obtained and the color shift is prevented. Furthermore, by adding a diffusion sheet on the side of the LC cell opposite the light source, the frontal characteristics of the LC display device can be appreciated over a broad range of viewing angles.
The above-mentioned appliances (e.g., personal computers and word processors) incorporating LC display devices are beginning to be used for various purposes and in various situations. For example, in the case where a presentation meeting is held by using such appliances, it is desirable that the display device have broad viewing angle characteristics because a number of people will simultaneously watch the display device. On the other hand, in the case where such appliances are used for inputting and displaying information in public places or in public transportation means, e.g., airplanes or trains, it is desirable that the viewing angle characteristics be just broad enough for the user to be comfortable so that others cannot peek at the display screen, out of privacy and confidentiality concerns. Such different needs have required a single apparatus that includes a display device having controllable viewing angle characteristics so that the display device can be adapted from a broad viewing angle mode (for a number of simultaneous users) to a narrow viewing angle mode (for one user only).
However, the above-mentioned conventional LC display devices, which attempt to broaden the viewing angle characteristics, cannot adapt the viewing angle characteristics to different needs, especially in an electrical manner.
Moreover, the LC display apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.5-72529 has the following problem. The directionality of backlight provided in a conventional display apparatus is such that the light expands in directions other than the LC display device itself so that it can be observed by people who are not orthogonally situated with respect to the display screen thereof. That is, in accordance with a conventional structure where lowly-collimated light is emitted toward the LC display device, the viewing angle characteristics of the LC display apparatus cannot be made sufficiently narrow so that only a person who is situated orthogonally with respect to the display screen can observe the displayed image, even by placing the additional LC layer for controlling the light scattering in a light transmitting state in order to allow little light to be scattered. Therefore, in order to ensure that only a person who is situated orthogonally with respect to the display screen can observe the displayed image in the above-mentioned LC display apparatus, it is necessary to emit highly-collimated light toward the LC display device.
LC display apparatuses having other structures may similarly require highly-collimated light to be emitted toward the LC display devices.

Liquid crystal display apparatus having adjustable viewing angle characteristics


An ultrasonic endoscope has a bending portion, an ultrasonic probe, and a flexible circuit board. The bending portion, connected to the point of a flexible tube, bends along two predetermined bending-directions perpendicular to each other, by remote control. The ultrasonic probe has a plurality of ultrasonic wave vibrators, which are arranged circumferentially, and send ultrasonic waves radially and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves. The flexible circuit board, which transmits signals associated with the ultrasonic waves and the echoes, is constructed of a plurality of flexible circuit board strips in the bending portion so as to allow a bending motion. The plurality of flexible circuit board strips are arranged such that a bending-resistance to the bending motion occurs symmetrically with respect to a primary central line, corresponding to one of the two bending-directions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic endoscope, which uses ultrasonic waves for the diagnosis of a diseased tissue. Especially, the present invention relates to the construction of the distal end of the ultrasonic endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the ultrasonic endoscope, an ultrasonic probe having ultrasonic wave vibrators is provided at the distal end of the endoscope. The ultrasonic probe sends ultrasonic waves and receives echoes of the sent ultrasonic waves.
For the scanning method, a radial scanning or a linear scanning is used. For example, when diagnosing an organ (body-cavity), into which the ultrasonic endoscope cannot be inserted, the radial scanning is performed. The endoscope is inserted toward an organ adjacent to the observed organ, ultrasonic waves are sent radially from the ultrasonic probe. Conventionally, a mechanical-type radial scanning is applied, where a series of ultrasonic wave vibrators is aligned along an axis of the probe and revolves on the axis to send the ultrasonic waves radially.
However, in the case of the mechanical type radial scanning, a color-image, partially colored by Red (R), G (Green), B(Blue), which is effective for diagnosis of the diseased areas, cannot be displayed on the monitor.
Further, in an ultrasonic endoscope, the solid or hard ultrasonic probe is provided at the distal end of the endoscope. Therefore, when moving the endoscope towards the observed portion, it is important not to cause pain with the attachment at the distal end portion. To facilitate this, a far greater response performance of the bending portion to the operator""s manipulation is required compared to a normal endoscope.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic endoscope that is capable of obtaining an observed-image effective for diagnosis without degrading the response performance of the bending portion.
An ultrasonic endoscope according to the present invention is an endoscope for performing electronic radial scanning. A bending portion formed in a tube is connected to the point of a flexible tube, which is inserted in a body, or organ. The flexible tube is normally connected to a manipulator portion of the endoscope, and an operator, such as doctor, bends the bending portion by manipulating a manipulating knob, which is operatively connected to the bending portion. Namely, the bending portion bends by remote control.
The bending portion bends along two predetermined directions. Normally, the bending portion bends along an up-down direction and a left-right direction, which are perpendicular to each other. The up-down direction and the left-right direction are defined on the basis of the holding-posture of the manipulator portion, the connection between the manipulator portion and the flexible tube, and so on. The manipulating knob for bending the bending portion toward the up, down, left, or right direction, is provided at the manipulator portion, and the operator manipulates the manipulating knob as required. For example, the manipulating knob is composed of an up-down knob for bending the bending portion along the up-down direction and a left-right knob for bending the bending portion along the left-right direction.
The ultrasonic endoscope is a fiber-scope type endoscope or a video-scope type endoscope. In the case of the video-scope type endoscope, the ultrasonic endoscope is connected to a video-processor having a light source and signal circuits and is connected to an exclusive ultrasonic wave diagnosis apparatus. An image sensor is provided at the distal end of the endoscope, and further, an image signal cable connected to the image sensor, a fiber-optic bundle for the light source, a delivery tube for providing liquid or air, and a forceps tube for inserting a forceps, are arranged in the endoscope. On the other hand, in the case of the fiber-scope type endoscope, the ultrasonic endoscope is connected to a light source unit and is then connected to the ultrasonic wave diagnosis apparatus. Further, an image fiber-optic bundle for optically transmitting the object image is provided in the endoscope, in place of the image signal cable. Note that, the fiber-optic bundle for the light source and the delivery tube may be composed of a pair of fiber-optic bundles and a pair of delivery tubes, respectively.
An ultrasonic probe for the electronic radial scanning is operatively connected to the bending portion. For example, a solid point-base portion is connected to the bending portion and the ultrasonic endoscope is attached to the point-base portion.
The ultrasonic probe has a plurality of ultrasonic wave vibrators, which are arranged circumferentially to perform the electronic radial scanning. The plurality of ultrasonic wave vibrators send ultrasonic waves radially around a center axis of the ultrasonic probe and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves.
According to the present invention, a flexible circuit board is provided in the endoscope. The flexible circuit board transmits signals associated with ultrasonic waves and echoes, so that an ultrasonic-image, representing a section-image in the body, is obtained at the ultrasonic wave diagnosis apparatus. As electronic scanning (not mechanical scanning) is performed, an ultrasonic color-image is obtained as required by simultaneously sending multiple ultrasonic waves, each frequency of which is different, or an ultrasonic pulse-width image is obtained by coloring in accordance with contrast of the echoes. These images cannot be obtained by mechanical radial scanning.
In the bending portion, the flexible circuit board is constructed of a plurality of flexible circuit board strips so as to allow a bending motion, namely, to be capable of withstanding the bending motion. The plurality of flexible circuit board strips extends along a central axis of the bending portion. Since the signal-transmitting member in the bending portion is composed of a plurality of flexible circuit board strips, snapping does not occur while the bending portion is manipulated. The plurality of flexible circuit board strips enables the circumferential arrangement of the ultrasonic wave vibrators, namely, the electronic radial scanning. Note that, the width of each flexible circuit board strips is defined in accordance with a radius of the bending portion.
Further, according to the present invention, the plurality of flexible circuit board strips are arranged in the bending portion such that an excellent response performance for the bending manipulation is realized. Note that, the response performance represents whether the bending portion bends along the determined direction precisely without inclining in an undetermined direction. While inserting the flexible tube into the organ, the operator, as required, bends the bending portion along only one of two directions, or one of the up-down direction and the left-right direction, to pass the flexible tube through the organ smoothly. Almost all operators bend the bending portion along the up-down direction. Speaking concretely, most operators insert the flexible tube by bending the bending portion toward the up-direction and returning it toward the neutral position, as required.
In the endoscope of the present invention, the plurality of flexible circuit board strips are arranged in the bending portion such that a bending-resistance to the bending motion occurs symmetrically with respect to a primary central line. The primary central line is defined on a section of the bending portion, crosses the central axis of the bending portion, and corresponds to one of the two bending-directions (normally, the up-down direction). The plurality of flexible circuit board strips are arranged in accordance with the arrangement of the various members extending through the bending portion, such as the fiber-optic bundle, the delivery tube, and the forceps tube.
As the bending-resistance (flexural-resistance) occurs symmetrically, in other words, the flexural rigidity along the direction to be bent has symmetry with respect to the primary central line, the response performance to the bending manipulation is excellent and the bending portion bends toward the desired direction precisely. Therefore, when inserting the flexible tube, the operator can manipulate the bending portion so as not to cause a pain to the patient.
To produce a bending-resistance having precise symmetry, preferably, each members provided in the endoscope, such as the fiber-optic bundle, the delivery tubes, and so on, is arranged so as to have symmetry with respect to the primary central line on the section. For example, in the case of the video-scope type endoscope, the fiber-optic bundle, the delivery tube, the forceps tube, and the image signal cable are arranged so as to have symmetry with respect to the primary central line. Then, the plurality of flexible circuit board strips are arranged so as to have symmetry with respect to the primary central line in the section. Therefore, a bending portion with high response performance to the bending motion is easily arranged, or manufactured.
To arrange the plurality of circuit board strips without difficulty, preferably, the width and thickness of each of the plurality of circuit board strips on the section is substantially the same.
To securely and easily arrange the plurality of circuit board strips symmetrically, and to maintain the symmetrical arrangement during the bending motion, a plurality of bundles, each of which is composed of at least two flexible circuit board strips, may be formed. For example, if the number of circuit board strips is even, each bundle can be composed of two flexible circuit board strips. The plurality of flexible circuit board strips bends in each bundle, namely, the flexure direction is the same in each bundle. Therefore, the bending-resistance to the bending motion is stable and occurs symmetrically.
When the section form of the circuit board strips flexes, the bending-resistance to the bending motion tends to occur unsymmetrically. To produce a bending-resistance having precise symmetry, preferably, the plurality of circuit board strips are arranged along the central axis such that the section-form of each of the plurality of circuit board strips becomes substantially straight. In this case, each flexible circuit board strip bends smoothly, and the bending-resistance is stable and occurs symmetrically.
To maintain the symmetrical arrangement during the bending motion of the bending portion, the plurality of circuit board strips may not be positioned on a line of action, namely, the primary central line. Namely, preferably, the plurality of circuit board strips are arranged such that the plurality of circuit board strips are not on the primary central line in the section.
As for the total construction of the flexible circuit board, the flexible circuit board may be composed of the flexible circuit board strips (pieces), which are connected to the ultrasonic wave vibrator separately. However, in order to easily arrange the flexible circuit board so that it is symmetrical in the bending portion, preferably, the flexible circuit board is formed by partially cutting a single rectangular flexible circuit board such that a plurality of flexible circuit board strips are formed. Then, the cut rectangular flexible circuit board is rounded so as to form a cylinder. The strip portions are then gathered together at the end furthest from the board and a cone-like structure is formed. The plurality of circuit board strips may be arranged such that they are not on the primary central line in the section.
To symmetrically and easily arrange, preferably, the number of flexible circuit board strips is eight, and the width of each strip is substantially the same. Further, preferably, the eight circuit board strips are bundled such that two adjacent circuit board strips form one bundle.