A fluid machine has a housing and a rotating portion that rotates relative to and is at least partially disposed within the housing. The housing is coupled to a seal assembly comprising a plurality of seal channels having a plurality of seal rings. Each of the plurality of seal channels comprises a respective one of the plurality of seal rings.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Fluid machines are used in many applications for many processes. Fluid machines often include rotating parts that provide challenges in the formation of seals. Sealing between high pressure and low pressure areas is important in a rotating fluid machine to prevent leakage and promote proper functioning.
In a rotating machine such as a centrifugal pump, wear rings are used to provide a seal between a rotating part and a non-rotating part. One problem with rotating machines is that high temperatures or high pressures experienced by the machines cause the machines to change shape during operation. Conventional seals and bearings have a low tolerance for casing distortion. This manifests as poor sealing and wear characteristics. As such, the casings must be designed to withstand such distortions. In many applications such as aerospace and other applications, lighter and smaller casings are important. The smaller and lighter casings are typically less expensive than larger casings.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Method and apparatus for sealing a rotating machine using floating seals

FLUID EQUIPMENT DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, LLC


A method by which low melting point solder for reflow connection of components is formed on select fine and coarse pitch contacts of a printed circuit board simultaneously. A template with openings to select fine pitch circuit board contacts is placed in contact with fine pitch contacts. The fine and coarse pitch contacts of the board are exposed through holes in a stencil characterized in its ability to withstand solder reflow temperatures, not be wettable by solder, and have a coefficient of thermal expansion relatively matching the printed circuit board. Low temperature solder paste is screen deposited into the stencil openings. The stencil is removed and a mesh is fixedly positioned on the board, the solder paste retained by the stencil pattern is reflowed to selectively form on the underlying contacts of the printed circuit board. Thereafter, according to a preferred practice of the invention, the mesh is removed from the board and the board is subjected to previously practiced depositions of flux and paste in preparation for fine and coarse pitch component placement and ensuing solder reflow. Alternate practices of the invention involve concurrent deposition of fine pitch solder through a template and coarse pitch solder in the conventional manner in the absence of mesh with removal of the stencil prior to solder reflow.

Advances in technology in the electronics industry continually drive manufacturers to reduce the size of finished products while, at the same time, increasing their power. This is certainly true with respect to notebook and palmtop computers as well as with cellular telephones and camcorders. Desk top computers today are as powerful as those which occupied an entire room years ago. Telephones now fit in a shirt pocket.
Nevertheless, there are sectors of the industry, for example, in the printed circuit board fabrication business and the assembly shops that attach components, such as packaged integrated circuit devices to the board, which have reached their limits using conventional approaches. The two major obstacles being the application of solder mask between surface mount pads and the printing of solder paste on those pads.
Typically, a printed circuit board having thereon both fine and coarse pitch copper contact patterns is coated with a permanent solder mask whose purpose is to allow soldering only to the exposed copper patterns. In many cases, it is desirable to image a solder mask dam or web at sites between surface mount lands to act as an isolating barrier during subsequent solder paste printing and reflow. This dam or web prevents shorts from forming. The solder mask must be thick enough to provide a dam into which an adequate volume of solder paste can be deposited by screen printing for subsequent reflow.
On coarse pitch products, about 0.016" (16 mil) or higher, this does not present a problem as the application and imaging of the solder mask is relatively easy. There is a sufficient gap between lands on the board to enable resolution of this web. When the pitch becomes finer, it becomes increasingly difficult to align (register) and develop these features. In many cases this obstacle is insurmountable using conventional technology and different approaches need to be used.
The basic processes involved in attaching surface mount components to a printed circuit board consists of the following: 1. Paste Printing; 2. Component Placement; and 3. Solder Reflow. The largest number of defects associated with this process, approximately 70%, are directy attributable to the printing of solder paste. For this as well as other reasons, several processes have recently been developed which apply a sufficient amount of solder to the board prior to the assembly stage which significantly simplifies the process and reduces the associated defects. However, processes such as Precision Pad Technology (PPT.RTM.), Optipad.RTM., and Sipad.RTM. all require a solder mask dam or web between the lands for fine pitch applications in order to isolate the features and contain the solder.
Surface mount technology (SMT) is now routinely used to attach packaged integrated circuit devices to printed circuit boards. In one form, the practice involves the use of solder paste selectively deposited onto copper contacts of the printed circuit board through a stencil patterned with openings corresponding to the board contact locations. The solder paste is screen deposited in patterns on the printed circuit boards using the stencil as a mask and a doctor blade to squeegee the solder paste through the holes in the stencil. When the stencil is removed, the solder paste remains on the printed circuit board contacts.
Since the solder paste is typically 50% flux by volume, with the other 50% being particles of solder, the paste is also used to hold the component terminals in place during the solder reflow step which follows. The eutectic low melting point solder (63% tin, 37% lead-63/37) normally used permits reflow and concurrent bonding of the component terminals to the printed circuit board contacts at a temperature below 250 deg. C. compatible with the glass transition capabilities of flame retardent level 4 (FR4) printed circuit board materials.
The spacing of the leads for packaged integrated circuit components typically exhibit a pitch no finer than 16 mils. This capability is consistent with conventional SMT processes using screen deposited solder paste to hold and connect packaged integrated circuit devices to printed circuit boards.
Photolithographic processes used to form conductive contact patterns on modern printed circuit boards have the capability to create correspondingly fine pitch patterns. Unfortunately, attempts to screen solder paste in the fine pitch patterns characterizing the more advanced packaged integrated circuit devices in the neighborhood of 10 mil pitch have been frustrated by solder mask/solder paste problems.
In the absence of an effective solder paste screening process for depositing solder onto fine pitch printed circuit board contacts, other techniques have been employed. One approach uses masking and electroplating to deposit the solder. This process includes the formation of a photolithographically defined mask, an electroplate bath deposition of low melting solder on printed circuit board contacts not covered by the mask, a removal of the mask, and a reflow of the electroplated solder. The process involves numerous steps and has associated high cost.
Another approach involves the injection of molten solder through a dispensing head with a mask corresponding to the copper contact pattern of the printed circuit board. Unfortunately, the molten solder dispensing head is very expensive, requires a distinct mask for each different device footprint, and dispenses the solder to the contacts of only one die location at a time. An additional approach which reportedly has been used involves coating the entire board with molten solder thereby filling the wells and then blowing off the solder remaining on the solder mask. Of course, subjecting an entire board to the temperature and aggressiveness of molten solder is not an optimum solution to these problems.
The PPT.RTM. process has resulted in several U.S. patents being granted to Holzmann with the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,310,574; 5,395,040; and 5,403,671; as well as European Patent No. EP 0 640 271 B1 which contains essentially all significant features of the three prior U.S. patents. These patents teach the use of a mesh pressed against the circuit board with subsequent reflow whereby the mesh insures filling the well and shaping the formed solder with an imprint of the mesh on its top. Furthermore, the mesh forces excess solder, including solder balls, onto the upper surface thereof, thereby eliminating the possibility of short circuits caused by the excess solder . . . all the wells are filled. This excess is easily removed from the mesh. The other two processes, i. e., Optipad.RTM. and Sipad.RTM., flatten the top surface of the solder deposit. All three of these processes suffer from the need for a solder mask for fine pitch applications, which mask has severe resolution problems when defining a fine pitch well for deposition of solder.
Other relevant prior art can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,266 granted to Hoebener wherein is disclosed a method and product for fine pitch solder deposits using a stencil to screen the solder paste leaving the stencil on the board on top of the solder mask during a reflow step. This method is suited to the fabrication of populated printed circuit boards having fine pitch devices including flip-chip devices, connected on a board including conventional coarse pitch surface mount components.
As Hoebener points out in his patent, however, there are several weaknesses in this method. For example, it is stated that, "Tests to date have confirmed that the shape of the hole has an effect on the volume and formation consistency of the low melting point solder deposited onto contact 2. However, the optimum shape has yet to be defined, and is likely to be related to the material used for the stencil, the thickness of the stencil, the size of the contact, and the composition and rheology of the solder paste." (emphasis added)
Furthermore, "The use of a common stencil for both the fine and coarse pitch contacts may result in less than normal solder volume for the coarse pitch contacts. However, it is anticipated that any such variations or problems can be overcome through process optimization."
In addition, "The solder formed on the coarse pitch contacts may not have to be flattened in preparation for component placement." This flattening requirement itself can be a substantial problem since it involves additional equipment and time, and runs the risk of producing a squeeze-out of excess solder, which solder can produce short circuits, and the need to clean this excess off.
Another alternative, " . . . involves the practice of the invention in which the stencil is not removed following reflow of the solder paste. This practice will likely involve the screening of paste for both fine and coarse pitch contacts using the common stencil, and the use of the flux to hold the components during final reflow step 36 . . . " One final point is that in the Hoebener method, solder mask is a requirement.
One recent relevant disclosure appeared in Electronic Packaging & Production, May '97, in an article entitled, "Forming BGAs with Solder Paste", Brutovsky, et al, of IBM, pp.57-61, wherein a top and bottom stencil are employed. The authors point out that existing paste stenciling operations produce highly repeatable solder volumes at high throughput rates. Also, solder purchased in paste form is much less expensive than that purchased as discrete balls of tightly controlled size conventionally used in BGA (ball grid assembly). Paste volume is a function of stencil thickness and aperture size. Stencil thickness is the key variable for controlling paste volume and resulting BGA ball size.
To avoid the problem of solder paste sticking to the aperture walls and pulling away from the laminate, these inventors use two different stencils. Their top stencil being fixed in an SMT screen printer is removed after screening, whereas their bottom stencil, made of magnetic steel with chrome plating, stays with the laminate through the solder paste reflow operation and is only removed thereafter. A special workholding fixture having magnets embedded therein holds the bottom stencil firmly in place against the PCB laminate.
Due to the size of this "sandwich", early designs were too massive to be heated adequately in existing reflow ovens; therefore, to reduce thermal mass, a window-frame-like design with special cutouts was used. The stenciling and reflow operation provide a consistent volume of solder to each BGA pad.
Since this method of depositing solder results in consistent solder volumes, it is less desirable when shaping solder deposits simultaneously on fine and coarse pitch contacts which require the deposit of variable solder volumes. Where varying volumes are necessary, the instant invention solves this problem as well, without the use of reflow ovens, and without the need for complex magnetic fixtures and stencils which appear to be suitable only for very high volume production.
In the context of this known technology, there remains the need for a process, and product formed thereby, which will deposit and shape solder on a fine pitch printed circuit board contact pattern within the framework of conventional screened solder paste deposition processes while providing solder volumes on both coarse and fine pitch contacts simultaneously adequate to connect conventional surface mount devices and other packaged integrated circuit device components in the presence or absence of a solder mask.

Process for creating fine and coarse pitch solder deposits on printed ciruit boards


A decelerator for decelerating an attached payload includes a first canopy, a second canopy, and an internal structure for redirecting air entering the decelerator out of the decelerator and in a contraflow direction, which is cognate to the direction of travel. The first canopy defines an interior volume and includes a first opening for receiving a flow of air into the interior volume and a second opening for permitting received air to travel out of the interior volume. The second canopy is then positioned over the second opening, and the internal structure extends at least partially through the interior volume and interconnects the first canopy and the second canopy. Air within the internal structure is directed out of the decelerator in the contraflow direction. The internal structure can be constructed of a plurality of venturi tubes to increase the velocity at which air is emitted from the decelerator.

Decelerators, such as parachutes, are commonly attached to and used to decelerate objects falling or traveling in a given direction of travel. To this end, decelerators often include a canopy, which, when deployed, fills with air to create drag and retards subsequent movement of the decelerator, and any object connected thereto, in the direction of travel. As the speed in which an object is traveling increases or the distance between the object and a stopping force (e.g., a ground surface) decreases, the need for rapid deceleration increases. Decelerators of known construction, however, often rely on the drag created by virtue of the decelerator interfacing with a stream of incoming air alone. Yet, in applications requiring the deceleration of payloads traveling at increased speeds, such as sonic or supersonic speeds, reliance on such passive drag force alone may be insufficient to provide the requisite deceleration necessary to ensure safe delivery of the payload. Moreover, in applications requiring deceleration of payloads during planetary entry, descent, and landing, reliance on increased surface area alone may be insufficient to achieve the drag necessary for safe delivery of larger or heavier payloads.
Accordingly, a decelerator including features which provide improved deceleration to ensure safe delivery of heavier payloads and/or payloads traveling at increased speeds would be both highly desirable and beneficial.

Decelerator with internal structure for redirecting airflow


A surgical device for applying a bandage onto tissue is disclosed. The surgical device has an actuator and contains one or more releasable bandages and an adhesive. Actuation of the actuator releases the adhesive, saturates the bandage with the adhesive, and releases the bandage onto tissue. The actuator can be squeezed, moved linearly, or rotated to dispense the adhesive onto the bandage and release the saturated bandage. The adhesive can be stored in an ampoule, or a sealed chamber. Actuation of the surgical device breaks the ampoule and/or seal and releases the adhesive for use. In addition to the adhesive, additional fluids or additives can be mixed with the adhesive or stored in separate chambers of the ampoule or surgical device. These additives can include drugs, image enhancing agents, necrosing agents, sclerosing agents, and the like.

Adhesives and sealants have been contemplated to supplement or replace suture and staple based applications for many years. Fluid adhesives offer the special challenges of controlling the fluid placement, preventing fluid migration or drips within the body, creating barriers to tissue regrowth, adhesion difficulties to moist tissue, adhesive strength, and blockage of adhesive dispensing orifices in the surgical device. These issues and others have limited the adoption of adhesives.
If adhesives are applied to a porous carrier or bandage pad, the adhesive is drawn into the bandage by wicking or absorption and provides adhesion control. The adhesive can be provided either before or after the bandage is placed onto tissue. Additionally, other additives or compounds such as adhesive initiators, drugs, marking materials, contrasting agents, gene therapies and the like can be incorporated into the adhesive or combined with the bandage. The combination of bandage and adhesive and compound make many additional surgical applications practical including buttressing, drug delivery, fixation and the like. The bandage and adhesive can be permanent or temporary, for external or internal application, and can be used for open surgery, hand assisted laparoscopic surgery, or endoscopic surgery.
Dispensing fluids or gels can ooze, be difficult to control and adhesives and additives can drip into unwanted places. Furthermore, once opened to air, moisture or to adhesion initiators such as base solutions, atmospheric moisture, saline and the like can limit the storage time of the device.
Consequently, a significant need exists for a bandage and adhesive combination that offers a long storage life, offers improved adhesive placement, strong adhesive bonds, reduces adhesive migration, can be used in internal and external surgeries, offers additional features such as drug therapies, image enhancements and the like, controls or reduces the likelihood of blocking the adhesive distribution from the surgical device, and can be used for cutaneous and/or percutaneous surgery.


A semiconductor switching device includes a first load terminal electrically connected to source zones of transistor cells. The source zones form first pn junctions with body zones. A second load terminal is electrically connected to a drain construction that forms second pn junctions with the body zones. Control structures, which include a control electrode and charge storage structures, directly adjoin the body zones. The control electrode controls a load current through the body zones. The charge storage structures insulate the control electrode from the body zones and contain a control charge adapted to induce inversion channels in the body zones in the absence of a potential difference between the control electrode and the first load electrode.

Power semiconductor switching devices are either normally-on devices conducting a load current in the absence of a potential difference between gate and source or normally-off devices which do not conduct a load current in the absence of a potential difference between gate and source. Inter alia for safety reasons normally-off switching devices are more popular. On the other hand in some applications, such as cascode circuits, normally-on switching semiconductor devices can reduce circuit complexity.
Further in the field of power semiconductor switching devices a desaturation cycle may partly reduce a charge carrier plasma before switching the semiconductor switching device from an on-state to a blocking state.

Semiconductor switching device including charge storage structure


A method for a repair of materials used in the manufacture of non-structural aircraft interior components includes the steps of laying fiberglass over a damaged surface and adhering the fiberglass with a fast-adhering glue, that includes at least one of cyanoacrylate and a cyanoacrylate activator for repairing the surface, to the damaged surface. A related method that includes applying a cyanoacrylate activator is used for removing pen and pencil marks for a synthetic leather material.

It is common for the various interior fittings of aircraft to become damaged over time with use.
Most of these fittings, whether actual components such as seats, trays and the like or alternatively veneers for surfaces, are manufactured from some synthetic material or plastic approved for use in aircraft. These fittings, while not including structural airplane components, have an unpleasant visual effect if damaged even if the damage is of a minor nature such as scratching.
Unfortunately the synthetic materials can be difficult to repair in a visually aesthetic fashion however the alternative of replacing each damaged item is very costly.
For example, while it may appear desirable to repair a damaged component with fibreglass type materials because of the advantage of laying a mat layer over a crack, in this situation it is not appropriate as these surfaces act to release epoxy resins and the like.


A compound is disclosed having the formula: ##STR1## The compound is useful as an active ingredient in a herbicidal composition.

This invention relates to certain novel trisubstituted 6-thienyloxypyrid-2-carboxamides, to the preparation of such compounds, to herbicidal compositions containing such compounds, and to a method of combating undesired plant growth using such compounds.
Pyridines and their derivatives have many uses in the pharmaceutical area as well as in agriculture (herbicides, fungicides, acaricides, anthelmintics, bird repellents), as reagents, intermediates and chemicals for the polymer and textile industry.
The European patent application EP 0 447 004 discloses similar 6-phenyloxypyrid-2-carboxamides.
Although many of the known compounds show considerable activity against various weeds, they are not completely satisfying with regard to their selectivity or because of their persistence.
The compounds according to the present invention combine high herbicidal activity with the necessary selectivity and enhanced soil degradation.


This invention discloses a bioplastic composition comprising biomass as a component comprising a plastic compound resin comprising polybutylene succinate (PBS), polylactic acid (PLA), and additives selected from biomass from the coffee roasting processes, i.e. silver skin of coffee (SSC); and/or at least one fluoropolymer or fluoropolymer derivative as a friction reducing agent. This invention also relates to a process of pretreating the silver skin coffee for using as an additive for bioplastic resin to produce various products or using as a natural color masterbatch together with other plastics via extrusion, injection molding, compression and thermoforming processes in the industrial level.

From an estimation of global bioplastic consumption, it reveals that there is a rapid increase from 1,492,000 tons in 2012 to 6,731,000 tons in 2018 [Source: European Bioplastics Association (2013), BIOPLASTICS facts and figures. http://www.corbion.com/media/203221/eubp_factsfigures_bioplastics_2013.pdf]
Research and development of bioplastic composition using biomass as a component to reduce costs and improve the properties of bioplastic composition have been cited in several patent documents. They reveal about the bioplastic compositions and applications, and also the preparation process of bioplastic including various steps to obtain desired products. For example,
First example, US Publication No. 2007/0287795A1 entitled "Composite materials from corncob granules and process for preparation" discloses a biodegradable plastic composition comprising 70-80 wt % of polylactic acid (PLA), 20-30 wt % of corncob; and also a physical and chemical modification process of corncob by various methods such as high-frequency ultrasound and ozone (UV-ozone treatment), ammonia fiber explosion (AFEX) to provide corncob having properties that are suitable for the polymer.
Second example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,314,945 B2 entitled "Method for producing artificial stone using used ground coffee" discloses a use of a mixture of 10-40 wt % of ground coffee, 40-89 wt % of resin selected from polyester or polyurethane or acrylic, 0.5-5 wt % of peroxide catalysts, 0.5-4 wt % of metal salt catalysts, an additive selected from 0.01-40 wt % of calcium carbonate or 0.01-45% of aluminum trihydrate, and 0.0 1-4 wt % of color. Also, it discloses a method for producing artificial stone using said mixture.
Third example, Korean Patent No. KR101344471B1 entitled "Bio plastic using coffee residual products and method making the same" discloses a bioplastic composition comprising 47-65 wt % of polyethylene (PE), 10-20 wt % of byproduct of coffee, 5-20 wt % of at least one inorganic substance selected from calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or talcum or silica or mica, 2-5 wt % of titanium dioxide, 1-3 wt % of at least one dispersing agents selected from calcium stearin or zinc stearin or magnesium, and 1-5 wt % of at least one of plastic flow enhancer selected from EBS wax or p-wax.
From the above disclosed patent documents, it is clearly seen that an international research trend is to develop plastic compositions using biomass as a component to reduce costs and/or to improve specific bioplastic characteristics; to differentiate bioplastic products; and also to mitigate environmental problems using residual biomass to generate good benefits.

Bioplastic composition comprising biomass as a component and a production process

PTT GLOBAL CHEMICAL PUBLIC COMPANY Limited


After receiving at least one touch point on a touch screen, detect at least one initial position of the touch point on the touch screen. When the touch point slides away from the initial position, scroll an image displayed on the touch screen according to at least one sliding action of the touch point. Then detect the number of the touch points on the touch screen, and update a scrolling rate of the image displayed on the touch screen according to the number of the touch points moving on the touch screen. The scrolling rate of the image is directly proportional to the number of the touch points moving on the touch screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention illustrates a touch system, and more particularly to a method for scrolling a displayed image in a touch system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advancement of communications and techniques, various of portable electronic devices are used in daily life, such as notebook, smart phone, tablet, etc. For convenience, these portable electronic devices usually use a user-interface for receiving the commands from users. The user-interface can be built in the touch screen. When a touch screen receives a touch signal from a user, an electronic device performs corresponding operations. For example, the user can scroll through the telephone directory to search for a contact person in the smart phone.
Conventionally, scrolling through the image displayed on the touch screen can be done in two different ways. The first way is to slide a finger or a stylus on the image. The second way is to control a scroll bar on one side of the image to scroll the image. When a file contains many pages of content, the touch screen can only display a small amount of content on the image. In this case, the first way would spend a lot of time to scroll through the file. The second approach would simply compress the scroll icon in the scroll bar to a very thin icon, making control of the scroll icon difficult and being unable to locate the file to an appropriate page. As a result, the efficient of reading or browsing data on the touch screen is reduced.
Thus, it is important to develop an efficient method for scrolling an image on the touch screen.

Method for scrolling a displayed image in a touch system


A seal-forming device for a replenishment toner receiving aperture of a development apparatus includes a resilient member mounted to the development apparatus and around the aperture. The seal-forming device also includes a woven fabric that is mounted to the resilient member and to a part of the development apparatus. The woven fabric has warp and filling fibers. The warp fibers are larger than the filling fibers and are mounted to lie in the direction of loading and unloading a replenishment toner container relative to the seal-forming device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to development apparatus which use dry developer material or toner for developing latent images in such electrostatographic reproduction machines as copiers and printers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for sealing around an aperture (used in such development apparatus) for replenishing the developer material or toner as such material or toner is used up in image development.
2. Background Art
Development apparatus, which hold and use dry powdery developer material consisting of, or containing, toner particles at a desired concentration for developing latent images in electrostatographic reproduction machines, are well known. Because such image development ordinarily depletes or uses up toner particles, additional toner particles must frequently be added to the development apparatus in order to maintain their desired concentration. The higher the speed and volume of the host reproduction machine of the development apparatus, or the larger and more solid the toned image areas, the higher the toner depletion rate, and hence the greater the frequency of adding or replenishing toner particles to the development apparatus.
The adding or replenishing of dry, powdery toner particles as such, ordinarily can be a messy job. Therefore unique toner containers as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,887 ( '887 patent) have been disclosed in order to make the job less messy. The disclosed toner container therein includes a mouth with a flanged lip portion which cooperates with a toner receiving part of a development apparatus. The toner receiving part of the development apparatus includes a replenishment aperture through which toner from the container passes or drops into the development apparatus. To add or replenish toner to the development apparatus, the toner container is inverted and its flanged lip portion (while still closed) is positioned on the toner receiving part and slid in a forward direction to a (usually open) content-discharging position over the replenishment aperture. To remove the container from over the toner receiving or replenishment aperture, for example, after it is completely discharged, the flanged lip portion thereof is slid in a reverse direction away from the aperture.
In the '887 patent, in order to prevent toner spillage and leakage through areas between the lips of the toner container and the toner receiving part of the development apparatus, it is suggested generally that the surface area of the toner receiving part surrounding the toner receiving or replenishment aperture can be covered with a cloth, felt, fiber or other compressible material acting as a sealing device. Unfortunately, however, as the frequency of sliding the lip portion of a toner container back and forth increases in newer, high speed and high volume reproduction machines, the physical integrity of such a sealing device can quickly deteriorate leading to undesirable leaking of toner particles into open areas of the machines. Additionally, forces required for, and hence the difficulty of, sliding the container onto and away from the replenishment aperture become serious concerns.

Seal-forming device for a toner receiving aperture


A display controller, comprising a 3D_LUT random access memory, which stores at least a 3D Lookup table; and a display control processing unit, comprising: a computing unit, a register, a color signal booster, and a color signal attenuator; wherein after input color signals are received by the color signal booster, and the color signal booster amplifies color signals by a first predetermined factor, wherein the computing unit calculates the address of the 3D Lookup table, and loads the 3D Lookup table from the 3D_LUT random access memory according to the register, wherein the color signal attenuator attenuates color signals by a second predetermined factor. The present disclosure significantly increases the precision of color conversion from one RGB color space to another RGB color space, and does not increase the RAM cost, since the cost of multiplying or dividing by power of 2, for example, is limited.

3D lookup tables (3D LUTs) are used to map one color space to another. They are commonly used to calculate preview colors for a monitor or digital projector of how an image will be reproduced on another display device. A 3D RGB LUT is a 3D lattice of output RGB color values that can be indexed by sets of input RGB color values. Each axis of the lattice represents one of the three input color components (R, G, or B) and the input color thus defines a point inside the lattice. Since the point may not be on a lattice point, the lattice values must be interpolated; most products use tri-linear interpolation.
BT.709 is the canonical reference from the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) which standardizes the image encoding and signal characteristics of high-definition television (HDTV). It was first approved in 1990. In comparison, BT.2020 defines various aspects of ultra-high-definition television (UHDTV) with standard dynamic range (SDR) and wide color gamut (WCG), and it was first posted on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) website in 2012.
Because of the increasing popularity of UHDTVs in recently years, a way to transform color signals of the color space defined by BT.709 into color signals of the color space defined by BT. 2020 is needed.

Display controller, display control method, and display control system for color space conversion

VeriSilicon Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.


A radially divided elastomeric bearing assembly is for mounting between a helicopter pylon and transmission. The bearing assembling includes first and second bodies that, respectively, have a first and second plurality of alternating elastomeric and metallic laminae nested coaxially about a center bore and a center line. The first and second plurality of alternating elastomeric and metallic laminae extend radially and axially relative to the center line and are conical. The first and second plurality of alternating elastomeric and metallic laminae are inside a housing and separated by a central spacer and housing spacer extending from the internal surface of the housing towards the centerline and between the first and second bodies.

The present invention relates to a radially bisected elastomeric bearing for use in aeronautical vehicles such as a helicopter pylon mount and the method of using the same.
Laminated elastomeric bearings are known to include a plurality of alternating, nested elastomeric and metallic layers (i.e. shims) disposed coaxially about a centerline. In helicopters, such bearings may be mounted between pylons and the transmission. These bearings may be used in this position in an attempt to absorb shock and vibrations caused by the transmission as well as various movements (i.e. take off, landings and turns) and other components of a helicopter (i.e. mast, engine).
Conventional elastomeric bearings used as transmission pylon mounts have either vertical or horizontal nested elastomeric and metallic layers and are limited to only absorbing shock in the horizontal or vertical directions, respectively. However, torque, shock and vibrations generated by the movements of a helicopter as well as the other helicopter components occur in 360 degrees rather than merely the horizontal or vertical directions. As a result, the conventional elastomeric bearings are limited in the amount of torque, shock and vibrations that may be absorbed and experience pre-mature wear and early failure, as well as allowing the unabsorbed vibration and shock to be transmitted throughout the aircraft and felt by passengers.

Radially bisected laminated elastomeric bearing for helicopter pylon mount


A vehicle includes a mobile communication device that controls in-vehicle devices remotely, a drive controller that controls drive of the vehicle, a communication controller that controls the wireless communication with the mobile communication device, and an auxiliary battery that activates the communication controller and an in-vehicle-device controller controlling the in-vehicle devices. The communication controller includes a stopper that stops the wireless communication if a correlating temperature is lower than or equal to a predetermined temperature, the correlating temperature correlating with the temperature of the auxiliary battery acquired at a first predetermined time after a stop of the drive controller.

Techniques have been developed and widely used for remote control of devices installed in automobiles (hereinafter, also referred to as "vehicles"). For example, techniques have been developed for starting engines of vehicles by remote control to preliminarily warm-up the engines, and for activating air conditions of vehicles by remote control to control a temperature in the vehicles after starting the engines before passengers enter the vehicles. Such techniques are disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 11-230013 (patent document 1).
Patent document 1 describes a technique involving a control circuit for control of an aftermarket electric device installed in a vehicle. This vehicle has an engine control circuit that is wirelessly controllable to start/stop the engine of the vehicle through operation of a portable controller (remote controller) provided with a start switch and a stop switch. The aftermarket electric device is turned on by an operation-start signal which is an operation signal from the start switch during operation of the engine and turned off by an operation-stop signal which is an operation signal from the stop switch during a halt of the engine.
In addition to the preliminary air-conditioning described above, the inventors have believed that electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles that are chargeable via household wall sockets can be more convenient with remote detection and control of the start and stop of the electrical charge of the vehicles in a chargeable state in which the charging systems of the vehicles are connected to electric sockets. Such remote control of various devices enhances the convenience of the vehicles in use.
Dedicated portable controllers provided for the respective devices to be remotely controlled lead to increased costs, management burden, and incorrect operation. Such drawbacks are solved by the technique disclosed in patent document 1, which enables devices to be remotely controlled by a portable controller.
This technique uses a switch operation logic of a single switch to remotely control multiple devices. Consequently, an increase in the number of devices to be remotely controlled causes an increase in the complexity of the switch operation logic. Such a complicated switch operation logic cannot be readily operated and may lead to incorrect operation. The portable controller may be equipped with switches corresponding to the devices to be remotely controlled. In such a case, however, the switch configuration of the portable controller becomes complicated, and makes operation difficult that incorrect operation would increase.
The inventors have conceived the use of mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones, for remote control of various devices in a vehicle. The mobile phones popular today are multifunctional mobile phones, which are referred to as "smartphones." Smartphones have functions similar to those of personal computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs), and typically are equipped with touch panel displays. Thus, application software can be downloaded to obtain desired functions, allowing smartphones to remotely control in-vehicle devices.
That is, the application software can be developed to display a menu and switch buttons on a touch panel display for remote control of devices and to operate the switch buttons. The application software can be downloaded to a smartphone, enabling the smartphone to be used as a remote controller of the devices. The flexibility in the menu display facilitates appropriate operations without incorrect operation.
Wireless communication between a mobile communication device, such as a smartphone, and a vehicle requires the vehicle to be equipped with a wireless communication device (communication control device) supporting the communication standard (network interface) employed by the mobile communication device. The communication standards of smartphones include Wi-Fi (trademark) and 3G. In addition to these, communication standards, such as WiMAX (trademark) and Bluetooth (trademark) may also be used.
Among these communication standards, Wi-Fi has a relatively high communication rate, a relatively large wireless communication distance, and a low running cost due to its high versatility that does not require a communication infrastructure. Thus, mobile communication devices that support Wi-Fi can be readily used for remote control of in-vehicle devices. In such a case, a wireless communication device supporting such a standard is installed in the vehicle. Generally, such a wireless communication device in the vehicle is always in a communication standby mode and is ready to receive transmission from a smartphone or any other devices at all times.
Unfortunately, the wireless communication device in the vehicle that is in a communication standby mode constantly discharges its battery, which is the power source of the wireless communication device, due to a standby current. As a result, the state of charge of the battery rapidly decreases. In other words, upon performing a wireless communication between mobile communication devices that support Wi-Fi and the vehicle, the constant standby mode of the wireless communication device is advantageous as above, whereas this standby state requires a large standby current and causes a rapid decrease the state of charge of the battery. Especially, the state of charge of a battery having a small capacity tends to drop significantly due to the consumption by the standby current. This is a major problem.
Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles have large-capacity high-voltage sources (batteries for running the vehicles). A candidate method of charging the battery as the power source of the wireless communication device is periodic supply of electric power from the high-voltage source. This way, the electric power consumed by the wireless communication device for the stand-by current can be supplemented to constantly maintain the communication stand-by mode of the wireless communication device.
An important issue for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles is an improvement in the cruising distance in motor traveling. Although the batteries are chargeable with high-voltage sources, there is a strong demand for saving the power charged in the high-voltage sources. A scheduled charge of a battery in a low-temperature environment may result in an insufficient charge capacity of the battery because the charge acceptance of the battery is lower than that in a normal-temperature environment. If the wireless communication device is constantly in a communication stand-by mode, the charge capacity of the battery runs short and the battery runs out.

MITSUBISHI JIDOSHA KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA


An image processing apparatus includes a target value calculation unit configured to calculate a target value to be output in a predetermined region in input image data based on pixel values of pixels included in the region, a distribution order determination unit configured to determine a distribution order of output values for distributing output values corresponding to the target value in the region based on a pixel value of each pixel included in the region and a threshold value in the threshold matrix corresponding to the pixel, and an output value determination unit configured to determine an output value of each pixel included in the region by allocating the target value to at least one pixel included in the region in the distribution order.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method which convert image data to higher quality half-tone image data.
Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses such as a printer have been widely used which print an image represented by digital image data input through a computer or a digital camera on a recording medium by using a recording material. In digital image data, pixel values of pixels included in image data are generally represented by multiple tones such as 8 bits or 16 bits for one color. On the other hand, in an image forming apparatus, an image is formed by ON and OFF states of dots with a recording material. Thus, the number of tones which are outputtable by the image forming apparatus is often lower than the number of tones of image data. Generally, half toning is performed on digital image data so that such an image forming apparatus may print an image. From the half-tone image data acquired by the half toning, the image forming apparatus represents a dot pattern to be output on a recording medium and thus represents pseudo-tones of the image.
A type of half toning is called a dither process using a threshold value matrix. The threshold value matrix refers to a matrix in which threshold values are arranged correspondingly to pixels in image data. The dither process is performed on each pixel included in image data by comparing the pixel value and a threshold value corresponding to the pixel to quantize the pixel value of each pixel and thus reduce the number of tones of image data. The threshold value matrix is arranged repetitively in a tile pattern on image data such that threshold values may correspond to all pixels.
Threshold value matrices usable for the dither process may be classified into two types. One type is an FM (frequency modulation) based threshold value matrix in which high and low threshold values are dispersed. The other type is an AM (Amplitude modulation) based threshold value matrix in which the magnitudes of threshold values increase sequentially from one position. In a case where the dither process is performed on image data by using an FM-based threshold value matrix, the resulting half-tone image data represent a dot pattern with dispersed dots and represent pseudo-tones with the number of dots per unit area. In a case where the dither process is performed on image data by using an AM-based threshold value matrix, the resulting half-tone image data represent a dot pattern in which a concentrated plurality of dots are periodically disposed and represent pseudo-tones in accordance with the areas of dots. Even with both of the threshold value matrices, when flat image data are input, the arrangement of threshold values are generally determined in consideration of output characteristics of the image forming apparatus.
However, comparing pixel values of pixels of input image data and corresponding threshold values, the resulting half-tone image data may not represent a desired dot pattern. This may be caused by interference between a characteristic exhibited by input image data and a characteristic of the threshold value matrix. For example, a tone represented by input image data of a partial region may not be reproduced, or a fine line to be reproduced with half-tone image data may have a break in it.
Accordingly, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-194904, an ideal output total value is generated for each region in accordance with an average value of pixel values of a plurality of pixels included in a region corresponding to a threshold value matrix. It is further disclosed that output values are allocated in order from a pixel at a centroid position within a region defined by a pixel value until an ideal output total value is acquired.
According to the disclosure of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-194904, the arrangement of dots depends on the centroid position based on pixel values of pixels for each region. Therefore, because the centroid position within a region varies in accordance with a characteristic of input image data, a dot pattern suitable for output from an image forming apparatus may not be set. Furthermore, because the positions of ON dots are determined in order from the centroid position within a region, a characteristic in input image data may not be maintained, resulting in blurred half-tone image data.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method and program


Provided is, among other things, and together with associated methods, a powder feed comprising: a venturi comprising an external gas inlet, a gas outlet through which gas flows at a rate amplified over a gas flow rate into the external gas inlet, and an internal gas inlet; and a cyclone with an intake port connected to the venturi gas outlet, a recycle outlet port, and a product port, wherein a gas flow rate FS into the venturi external gas inlet results in an enhanced flow rate into the cyclone intake port.

The present invention relates to a dry powder feed and charging devices that can, for example, be used in dry powder deposition apparatuses.
The applicants have previously described apparatuses and techniques for using electromagnetic forces to make controlled depositions of materials. Such depositions make it possible to deposit controlled amounts of, for example, a pharmaceutical onto spatially resolved areas of a substrate. Described herein are further improvements to the methods and techniques for controlled deposition. In particular, the invention provides cyclones, powder feeds and deposition stations that can improve powder charging, powder consistency, powder sizing, reproducibility of deposition, and other aspects of handling powders.
The present invention provides improvements in handling fluidized powder dispersed in a carrier gas. Within a device of the invention, powders of particle aggregates and particle grains can be reduced in size via collisions with particulate matter carried by a gas or by collisions with a surface of the device. Particles can be charged by, for example, triboelectric, inductive or corona charging methods within the inventive system. The invention further provides for improved efficiency in the dispersion and charging of powders in a carrier gas by, for example, amplifying the internal flow rate of the gas/powder mixture while further providing a controllable, typically slower, rate of powder output. The powder output can be made up of particles of a selected charge polarity. Another aspect of the invention relates to the optical monitoring of the amount of fluidized powder flux.
The invention provides, together with associated methods, a powder feed comprising: a venturi comprising an external gas inlet, a gas outlet through which gas flows at a rate amplified over a gas flow rate into the external gas inlet, and an internal gas inlet; and a cyclone with an intake port connected to the venturi gas outlet, a recycle outlet port, and a product port, wherein a gas flow rate FS into the venturi external gas inlet results in an enhanced flow rate into the cyclone intake port.
The invention further provides, together with associated methods, a cyclone comprising: a milling chamber adapted to cause, under the force provided by a flow of gas, particles therein to collide with the chamber or other particles to mill the particles; a product output port located on the milling chambe/r to preferentially favor the output of milled particles, wherein the product output port is electronically isolated from the milling chamber; an electrical power source; and an electrical conduit that can be opened or closed for conveying from the power source a potential to the product output port.
The invention also provides, together with associated methods, a powder feed cell comprising: a chamber with an outlet port; a gas input conduit; and a venturi located within the chamber and connected to the gas input conduit, wherein the venturi has inlet port that draws fluidized powder from within the chamber and an outlet port that expels fluidized powder within the chamber, and wherein when gas flows into the venturi from the gas input conduit the venturi effect draws gas through the inlet port and proportionately increases gas flow at the outlet port, wherein the gas flow from the venturi outlet port is adapted to suspend at least a portion of a powder located within the chamber.
The invention also provides, together with associated methods, a powder handling device comprising: a cyclone comprising one or more surfaces along which fluidized powder flows during operation of the cyclone; and a source conduit of fluidized powder connected to the cyclone comprising a venturi effective to create turbulence in the fluidized powder.
The invention also provides, together with associated methods, a powder coating device comprising: a conduit for conveying charged powder particles suspended in a gas flow; and a depression, wherein powder particles suspended in the gas flow deposit on the internal surface of the depression.
The invention further provides, together with associated methods, a powder flux detecting device comprising: a conduit for carrying gas-fluidized powder, the conduit with an upstream end and a downstream end towards which the fluidized powder flows, in which conduit is incorporated a venturi is adapted to increase gas flow or turbulence in the gas flow; at least one laser directing a laser beam across the conduit, the laser comprising a window separating it from the conduit; and at least one detector adapted to intercept the laser beam or light scattered from the laser beam, the detector comprising a second window separating it from the conduit, wherein the laser and detector are positioned downstream of the venturi and in sufficient proximity so that increased gas flow or increased turbulence reduces powder coating of the first and second windows from that which would occur in the absence of a proximate venturi.

Device for the dispersal and charging of fluidized powder


A proposed method to illuminate optimally, or at least in an improved fashion compared with existing solutions, a road taken by a vehicle in question implementing the method whilst ensuring that other vehicles are not dazzled. To this end, it is not proposed in the invention to detect the distance between the vehicle in question and the first vehicle liable to be dazzled by the vehicle in question, and to generate accordingly a light beam optimized in terms of range on the road, and advantageously light intensity; according to the invention, the optimization of the light beam produced is achieved by the use of the motorway function available on the vehicle in question. The use of this function in this context also ensures a gradual transition between the function of the dipped type and the function of the main-beam type in the context of automatic switching operations between these functions.

1. Field of the Invention
An object of the present invention is a method for the automatic adaptation of a light beam emitted by a headlight device, in particular for a motor vehicle. An essential aim of the invention is to automatically optimize, according to the traffic observed on a road, the illumination generated by a vehicle following the road, in particular by offering a light beam, the performance and/or characteristics of which, in terms of range and light intensity, lie between those of the light beams produced by the headlight devices performing a dipped-beam function and those of the light beams produced by headlight devices performing a main-beam function.
2. Description of the Related Art
The field of the invention is, in general terms, that of motor vehicle headlights. In this field, various types of conventional lighting devices are known, among which there are essentially:                sidelights, with low intensity and range;        passing, or dipped-beam lights, with a higher intensity and range on the road of around 60 meters, which are used essentially at night and where the distribution of the light beam is such that it makes it possible not to dazzle the driver of a vehicle being passed;        long-range main-beam lights, whose area of vision on the road is around 200 meters, and which must be switched off when passing another vehicle in order not to dazzle its driver;        fog lights, etc. . . .
In addition, an improved type of headlight is known, called dual-function headlights, which combine the functions of dipped lights and long-range lights: for this purpose, it is possible for example to arrange inside the dual-function headlight a removable cover, consisting for example of a metal plate, able to move on command from a first position in which it does not obscure the light signal produced by the light source of the headlight, the range of the headlight then corresponding to that of main beams, to a second position in which it obscures part of the light signal produced by the light source of the headlight, the range of the headlight then being limited to that of a dipped light. The headlight must, in the second position, generate a beam with regulatory cutoff corresponding to a beam of the conventional dipped type, the form of the cutoff being given by the form of the shield intercepting part of the light signal. This example embodiment is principally used in headlight devices of the elliptical type.
However, the conventional headlight devices that have just been mentioned, more particularly those that are used as dipped lights, produce light beams that are open to improvement when the headlight devices are used under certain conditions in order to improve the driving comfort.
Thus, when a vehicle is on a motorway, it is judicious to lift the cutoff line compared with that of the beam of a conventional dipped type, and to concentrate the light flux of the dipped light at the optical axis of the headlight device; the beam produced is thus effectively carried a little further. On the contrary, when a vehicle is traveling in the town, it is not necessary to make the light beam carry as far as on a clear road.
Thus, in addition to the conventional principal headlight functions, in particular dipped and main beam, various improvements have progressively appeared. Thus elaborate functions, or advanced functions, have been seen to develop, known by the term AFS functions (standing for Advanced Front light System in English), which slightly modify the positioning of the cutoff of the light beam produced, and possibly its distribution in terms of light intensity, among which there is in particular a function known as Motorway Light in English, meaning motorway light. This function provides an increase in the range of a dipped light, in particular by increasing the light intensity of the beam that it generates at several points in space and by presenting a cutoff line that is raised with respect to that of a conventional dipped beam. In addition, the maximum authorized illumination level changes, in Europe, from 70 lux to 120 lux.
FIG. 1 depicts, by way of example and schematically, three theoretical projections onto a flat surface of various light beams that have just been mentioned. The beams shown correspond to those existing in countries where driving takes place on the right-hand side of the road. The beams corresponding to driving on the left are obtained by simple symmetry. The flat projection surface is disposed facing the headlight device in question, perpendicular to its optical axis. The grey-tinted part of these projections corresponds to an absence of light in the corresponding area in space, the part left white corresponding to an area in space illuminated in a regulatory fashion by means of the headlight device in question.
In this way a first theoretical cutoff line 101 has been shown, corresponding to a dipped beam, a second theoretical cutoff line 102, corresponding to a motorway beam, and a third theoretical cutoff line 103, corresponding to a main beam. The horizon line 104 is shown in broken lines. The theoretical cut-off line of the beam of the dipped type, and respectively of the beam of the motorway type, consists of:                a first part 111, and respectively 121, which takes the form of a first horizontal flat segment disposed below the horizon line 104; in the case of the beam of the dipped type, the projection angle observed between the horizon line and the first segment is −0.57 degrees, while in the case of the beam of the motorway type, the projection angle observed between the horizon line and the first segment is −0.34 degrees;        a second part 112, and respectively 122, which takes the form of a segment inclined by approximately 15 degrees with respect to the horizontal, passing through the horizon line 104;        a third part 113, and respectively 123, which takes the form of a second horizontal flat segment disposed slightly above the horizon line 104.
Such cutoff lines make it possible not to dazzle the drivers being passed in the opposite direction or followed, by maintaining the cutoff line below the horizon line on the left-hand part of the road, whilst offering a larger area of illuminated space on the right-hand part of the road. Conversely, the cutoff line 103 of the beam of the main-beam type, situated appreciably above the horizon line, causes a dazzling of the driver being followed or passed. This type of function is therefore used only under particular conditions, especially in the absence of vehicles being followed or passed.
The beam of the motorway type therefore corresponds to a beam of the dipped type where the horizontal part of the cutoff line has been raised (on the left of the vehicle for driving on the right) but also where the light intensity has been increased. The motorway function can be fulfilled by means of various types of headlight devices. A first example embodiment lies in the existence of a bender on the previously mentioned cover, acting in the dual-function devices. A bender corresponds to a part of the cover that takes the horizontal position, oriented towards the light source of the headlight device in question, when the cover is positioned so as to intercept part of the light rays produced by the light source. The bender then makes it possible to reflect part of the light rays that would have been intercepted by the cover in the absence of the bender, thus increasing the light intensity emitted and raising the light beam produced compared with the light beam produced by a conventional dipped beam.
A second example embodiment of a headlight device for performing a motorway function is shown schematically in FIG. 2. A projection of the light beam produced by such a headlight device is shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 2, a headlight device P comprises a first optical module M1 and a second optical module M2. Optical module means here an optical system comprising at least one light source, possibly disposed in a reflector, and possibly associated with one or more dioptric elements of the lens type; the light source can for example be implemented by one or more light emitting diodes grouped together, or by a halogen or xenon lamp in a reflector; the optical system in question is preferably self-contained, that is to say able to be switched on or off separately from the other modules of the headlight.
In this example, the first module M1 is for example able to perform the conventional dipped function; it therefore reproduces the previously described cutoff line 101. The first module M1 can also be a dual-function dipped/main-beam module. The second module M2 is a complementary module; for example, the second module can comprise one or more light emitting diodes, or LEDs, and a lens providing an at least partially flat cutoff line; in other example embodiments, other light sources than LEDs are used to produce the second module M2.
The activation of the second module M2, if it occurred without the activation of the first module M1, would produce a light beam whose projection 300 would be roughly rectangular or trapezoidal in shape, slightly below the horizon line 104; the projection angle observed between the horizon line and a higher line 301 of the light projection 300 is typically −0.34 degrees. The activation of the second module M2 combined with the activation of the first module M1 therefore generates a light beam whose overall shape is similar to that of a dipped beam, but with a cutoff line 302, shown in bold in FIG. 3, raised at least on the left hand part of the road, and whose light intensity is increased, compared with the light intensity of a dipped beam, close to the cutoff line of the global beam produced. Such a global beam can therefore be used to perform the motorway function.
Other examples of headlight devices for producing a beam of the motorway type exist in the prior art, for example multifunction headlight devices that comprise a light source and a movable cover selectively obscuring part of the light flux emitted by the source, thus making it possible to perform the dipped, main beam and motorway functions. In the invention, it will be possible to use any type of device able to produce at least one light beam of the conventional dipped type and a light beam of the motorway type; advantageously, the headlight devices used will be able to produce also light beams of the main-beam type.
For the general purpose of improving the driving comfort in terms of visibility, there exist, in the prior art, dual-function modules where the switching from dipped function to main beam function, and vice versa, is automatic, and the switching depending on the traffic conditions. With vehicles equipped with such dual-function modules, the presence of a vehicle liable to be dazzled by use of the main-beam function is sought. If no vehicle is detected, the main-beam function is automatically activated. As soon as the presence of a vehicle is detected, the main-beam function is automatically deactivated and the vehicle equipped with the dual-function headlight once again presents a light beam of the dipped type.
In practice, the threshold value as from which the absence of a vehicle detected allows switching to the main-beam function is fixed at 600 meters. As soon as a vehicle is detected at less than 600 meters from the equipped vehicle, it is the dipped function that is activated. However, this function provides fully satisfactory lighting only over a distance of around 60 to 80 meters. There therefore exist many traffic configurations, those in which the first vehicle liable to be dazzled is situated at more than 100 meters and at less than 600 meters from the equipped vehicle, for which the illumination of the road could be optimized without for all that dazzling the driver of any other vehicle.

Method for the automatic adaptation of a light beam of a headlight device


A cutter, detachably attachable to a support member, includes a shaft made of a resin and has a smaller-diameter portion and a larger-diameter portion formed integrally with the shaft. The smaller-diameter portion is rotatably supported by a plurality of bearings. The larger-diameter portion has a proximal end surface abutting on an end surface of one of the bearings, with a result that the cutter is locked. The cutter includes a flat blade located on a distal end of the larger-diameter portion. The cutter includes a metal member which can be attracted by a magnet located on the support member. The metal member is located on a distal end of the smaller-diameter portion. Contact portions are located on axially differing portions of the shaft respectively and are capable of contacting the bearings respectively. Thinned parts are located between the contact portions and extend in the axial direction of the shaft.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a cutter capable of cutting a sheet-shaped object, a cutting member including the cutter and a cutting apparatus to which the cutting member is detachably attachable.
2. Related Art
A cutting apparatus, such as a cutting plotter, has been conventionally known which automatically cuts a sheet-shaped object. The cutting plotter includes a cutting pen which is used to cut the object. The cutting pen includes a cutting pen holder on which is rotatably held a cutter part having a cutting blade. The cutter part is formed of a bar material made of a metal such as carbon steel. The cutter part is an article of consumption. Accordingly, the cutter part is attracted to cutting pen holder by magnetic force thereby to be attached thereto and is accordingly replaceable easily. However, the cutter part has conventionally been manufactured by cutting a metal bar material. This increases manufacturing costs.

Cutter, cutting member and cutting apparatus


A computer system that increases performance and reduces power consumption is described. Specifically, the system writes the contents of the system to a non-volatile memory cache before powering down. After repowering the system, the system initiates the load sequence from the memory cache.

A computer system typically comprises a main memory and a secondary memory. Main memory or random access memory (RAM) refers to the physical system that is internal to the computer. The computer manipulates only the data that is in main memory. Therefore, programs that are executed and files that are accessed are typically copied into main memory. When the computer system is powered off, the data in main memory is typically not retained. The amount of main memory in a computer system determines how many programs can be executed at one time and how much data can be readily available to a program.
In contrast to main memory, the data in secondary memory is typically retained even after the system is powered off. Secondary memory allows large amounts of data to be stored. Examples of secondary memory include mass storage devices such as hard disks, floppy disks, optical disks, and tapes.
Computer systems set to a "hibernate" mode typically store the contents of main memory and other devices to secondary memory prior to powering down the system. After the system is powered back up, the computer is restored to the same state as the system was in prior to power down.

Memory optimization for a computer system having a hibernation mode


A stage device has guide members (2, 3) for guiding each of two moving bodies (4, 5) in one axis direction on a level block (1) and has a beam (6) laid across the two moving bodies (4, 5) so as to be perpendicular to the guide members (2, 3) and moving together with the moving bodies (4, 5). The two moving bodies (4, 5) are individually moved to rotate the beam (6) relative to a yaw rotation axis perpendicular to the one axis direction.

One example of a stage device of this type will be described with reference to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b). In FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), two guide rails 2 and 3 are disposed on a surface plate 1 so as to be parallel to each other with a predetermined distance therebetween. The guide rails 2 and 3 each extend in a Y-axis direction shown in FIG. 1(a). Moving bodies 4 and 5 are mounted on the guide rails 2 and 3, respectively. Herein, the guide rail 2 and the moving body 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1(b), the moving body 4 is provided with static pressure bearing pads 12. The static pressure bearing pads 12 are interposed between the guide rail 2 and the moving body 4. The moving body 4 is also provided with a static pressure bearing pad 13. The static pressure bearing pad 13 is interposed between the surface plate 1 and the moving body 4. By this, the moving body 4 is movable along the guide rail 2 in the Y-axis direction.
Likewise, the moving body 5 is also provided with static pressure bearing pads 12 and 13. The moving body 5 is movable along the guide rail 3 in the Y-axis direction.
A beam 6 is laid between the moving body 4 and the moving body 5. The beam 6 extends in an X-axis direction shown in FIG. 1(a). The beam 6 has one end rigidly fixed to the moving body 4 and the other end joined to the moving body 5 through a plate spring structure 8. The fixation between the moving body 4 and the one end of the beam 6 is carried out, for example, by the use of screws. By this, the beam 6 is movable in the Y-axis direction along with the moving bodies 4 and 5.
A moving body (movable portion) 14 is mounted on the beam 6. The moving body 14 is movable in the X-axis direction using the beam 6 as a guide. Static pressure bearing pads 14a to 14c are disposed between the surface plate 1 and the moving body 14. The static pressure bearing pads 14a to 14c are attached to the moving body 14. By this, the moving body 14 is guided by the static pressure bearing pads 14a to 14c in a Z-axis direction with respect to the surface plate 1 and movable in the X-axis direction.
In FIG. 1(a), the moving body 4 is shown with a portion thereof removed, while the moving body 14 is shown with an upper portion thereof removed.
A static pressure bearing pad 15 is attached to a lower surface of the beam 6 at its center portion. The static pressure bearing pad 15 is interposed between the surface plate 1 and the beam 6. By this, the beam 6 is supported by the static pressure bearing pad 15. That is, the static pressure bearing pad 15 moves along with the beam 6 over the entire strokes in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction without impeding the movement of the moving body 14 while supporting the self-weight of the beam 6 and thus supports the beam 6 so as not to apply excessive loads to the joining portion between the beam 6 and the moving body 5, and so on. Such a stage device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2000-356693 (hereinafter referred to as Document 1).
As drive sources of the moving bodies 4, 5, and 14, linear motors are normally used. For example, the linear motors are formed between the guide rail 2 and the beam 6 and between the guide rail 3 and the beam 6, respectively, so that the moving bodies 4 and 5 serve as movable portions. Further, the linear motor is formed between the beam 6 and the moving body 14 so that the moving body 14 serves as a movable portion.
In the case of using a moving coil type linear motor, description about the linear motor, for example, formed between the guide rail 2 and the beam 6 will be as follows. A plurality of permanent magnets are arranged at regular intervals along the guide rail 2. A plurality of permanent magnets are arranged with a gap defined with respect to those plurality of permanent magnets so that different magnetic poles face each other. Then, a movable coil joined to the moving body 4 is disposed in the gap so as to be movable along with the moving body 4.
In such a stage device, in addition to the foregoing structure, each linear motor is provided with a position sensor in the combination of a linear scale and a linear sensor for position control of the moving body 4, 5, or 14. Further, synchronous control is implemented with respect to the linear motors for the moving bodies 4 and 5. Such a stage device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2000-155186 (hereinafter referred to as Document 2).
In such a stage device, a table for placing thereon a member to be processed or the like is installed on the moving body 14 and drive control is implemented for accurately positioning the member to be processed.
On the other hand, in such a stage device, it is necessary that the beam 6 be orthogonal to the guide rails 2 and 3 for accurately positioning the member to be processed. This is because positioning specification of the member to be processed is carried out by the use of X-coordinate and Y-coordinate on the surface plate 1. The stage device so far uses, as a criterion, an orthogonality based on machine accuracy at the time when the beam 6 is located at a certain reference position (reference coordinates), for example, at an origin position set close to an end portion of one of the guide rails 2 and 3. Thereafter, when the moving bodies 4 and 5 are subjected to position offset, the moving bodies 4 and 5 are individually controlled in position so as to maintain the foregoing orthogonality based on the machine accuracy within a predetermined range.
However, in the stage device of this type, when continuous operation is carried out, the respective members, particularly the beam 6 and its peripheral members, may be subjected to deformation due to heat generation of the linear motors. As a result, the orthogonality of the beam 6 with respect to the guide rails 2 and 3 may deviate from the foregoing predetermined range. That is, in the stage device so far, when the continuous operation is carried out, the respective members in the stage device are subjected to temperature rise due to the heat generation. There has been a problem that when the orthogonality of the beam 6 changes thereby, the orthogonality of the beam 6 with respect to the guide rails 2 and 3 cannot be maintained within the predetermined range and thus the accurate positioning cannot be achieved.


The present invention relates to a multi-functional nucleic acid-based anti-cancer drug in which the anti-cancer drug is physically bound to a linear nucleic acid having a thiol group at 5′ terminal thereof and then gold nanoparticles and aptamers are chemically bound. The present invention also relates to a method for preparing the anti-cancer drug and to an anti-cancer composition comprising the anti-cancer drug. The multi-functional nucleic acid-based anti-cancer drug according to the present invention uses A10 aptamer to achieve high targeting properties, and uses high-concentration anti-cancer drugs and gold nanoparticles to enable dual therapy of thermal therapy/chemical therapy, and may have less side effects and be more effective in anti-cancer therapy compared to existing anti-cancer drugs.

Conventional anticancer drugs are introduced into various metabolic pathways of cells in which division is actively progressing, and most of them exhibit anticancer activity by inhibiting synthesis of a nucleic acid or generating cytotoxicity. However, the drugs did not selectively act only on cancer cells, but also damaged normal cells, particularly those of tissues that were actively dividing, resulting in serious side effects such as nausea, gastroenteric trouble, alopecia, leukopenia caused by myelosuppression, etc.
Accordingly, recently, various studies for developing an anticancer drug having a targeting property that can minimize damage to normal cells are progressing. According to the progress of such studies, studies on the development of various targeting anticancer drugs such as a manual targeting method in which an anticancer drug is accumulated only in cancer cells having abnormal blood vessels, the development of an anticancer drug using siRNA inhibiting expression of a specific gene, and the development of an anticancer drug using various peptides or nucleic acid aptamers binding to specific cancer cells are actively progressing. However, such targeting anticancer drugs still have problems in terms of low anticancer effects, low targeting properties, and complicated preparation methods.
Meanwhile, since a cancer is a complicated disease in which various mechanisms operate, and thus is unlikely to be completely cured using only one method such as chemotherapy using anticancer drugs or radiotherapy, recently, attention to anticancer treatment through integrating various treatments is increasing. However, there is a still lack of studies on multifunctional anticancer drugs.
For such effective anticancer treatment, there is a demand for the development of a multifunctional anticancer drug having a high targeting property, a high anticancer effect and an easy preparation method.

Multi-functional nucleic acid-based anti-cancer drug capable of targeting and therapy, method for preparing same and anti-cancer composition comprising same

Research & Business Foundation Sungkyunkwan University


A motor vehicle headlight has a reflector receiving a lamp, and a cover lens in front of the reflector. A glass styling embellisher is fitted in front of the lamp, and is secured by a one piece fastening member which is essentially in two parts, which are brought together by bending so as to put the fastening member in a closed condition in which a flange of the embellisher is trapped between retaining elements of the fastening member. The two parts of the latter have retaining lugs for retaining the fastening member, carrying the embellisher, in position in a lamp aperture of the reflector.

A conventional vehicle headlight comprises a housing which is closed at the front by a cover lens, and which contains a reflector with the lamp mounted at the base of the reflector. In order to prevent the direct emission of light by the lamp towards the front that would dazzle drivers of vehicles travelling in the opposite direction, especially where the headlight is so designed as to emit a cut off beam (for example a cruising beam or a fog penetrating beam) which is adapted to avoid such dazzling, it is known to equip the lamp with a mask or occulter for masking direct light, so that the light emitted by the filament or arc of the lamp is prevented from reaching the cover lens directly, and the environment outside the vehicle. The mask causes the light radiation to be directed towards the whole surface area of the reflector. It also enables the light to be concealed, for aesthetic reasons, when the headlight is extinguished.
In the prior art, the mask generally has a lateral portion in the form of a frustoconical skirt, having an aperture adjacent to the lamp and held in front of the lamp by means of at least of one fastening lug which connects it to the reflector. In front of this frustoconical part, there may be fitted a front piece or styling embellisher, the purpose of which is to improve the appearance of the extinguished headlight and also, optionally, to assist in the masking of the radiation. The means for mounting this front piece on the frustoconical part are usually of the snap fitting type, or the type having deformable fastening lugs.
Such mounting means have to two main disadvantages, namely that, firstly, they are not easy to realize in practice, and secondly they make it difficult to fix a styling embellisher or front member if the latter is made of glass, which cannot conveniently be extended by the fastening tongues or lugs that are necessary for the two types of fastening mentioned above.

Motor vehicle headlight having a styling embellisher


A plane motor device that includes a stator unit, a movable unit movable along a plane above the stator unit, first and second coil units at one or both of the movable unit and the stator unit, in which coil units a current flows for driving the coil unit, and an enclosure partitioned into a plurality of separate regions. The enclosure encloses the first and second coil units in two respective regions of the plurality of separate regions. Each of the two regions has a cooling channel through which cooling refrigerant flows separately from the cooling channel of the other region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plane motor suitable for a stage apparatus used for moving or positioning a substrate, the substrate being in a precision machine, such as a semiconductor exposure apparatus, or the like. A stage apparatus using the plane motor of the invention is used, for example, as a reticle stage or a wafer stage for sequentially moving a reticle or a silicon wafer with respect to a projection exposure system when performing projection exposure of the pattern of the reticle onto the silicon wafer in a projection exposure apparatus for transferring the pattern of the reticle onto the silicon wafer, the silicon wafer serving as a substrate to be exposed, in a semiconductor manufacturing process.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of high-precision apparatuses, such as semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses, and the like, in order to perform very precise position control at a high speed without depending on mechanical accuracy, and to obtain a long life by preventing mechanical friction, stage apparatuses for performing XY two-dimensional position control by driving a movable member in a two-dimensional direction in a non-contact state are being developed. Plane motors according to a variable reluctance driving method or an electromagnetic-force driving method using a Lorentz's force are used as driving sources for such stage apparatuses.
FIG. 10 illustrates a conventional stage apparatus used in a projection exposure apparatus. In FIG. 10, a stage apparatus 55 sequentially moves a substrate (wafer) 64 at each exposure operation. Reference numeral 61 represents a stage surface plate. A movable slider 62 is driven on the stage surface plate 61 in a two-dimensional direction in a non-contact state. An illuminance sensor 63 provided on the upper surface of the movable slider 62 performs calibration measurement of illuminance of exposing light before exposure in order to correct the amount of exposure. A wafer-conveying robot 57 supplies the stage apparatus 55 with the wafer 64. The wafer 64 is obtained by coating a resist on the surface of a single-crystal silicon substrate, in order to be subjected to projection transfer of a reticle pattern depicted on a reticle substrate via a reduction exposure system. An X-interferometer mirror 65 is a target for measuring the position of the movable slider 62 of the stage apparatus 55 in the X direction using a laser interferometer. Reference numeral 65A represents X-interferometer measuring light. An X-interferometer base 65B holds and positions the X-interferometer mirror 65. A Y-interferometer mirror 66 is a target for measuring the position of the movable slider 62 in the Y direction. Reference numeral 66A represents Y-interferometer measuring light. A Y-interferometer base 66B holds and positions the Y-interferometer mirror 66. In this and all other figures, X, Y and Z represent the respective directions (i.e., axes).
At present, a variable-reluctance-driving-type linear pulse motor is mainly used as the plane motor used in the stage apparatus shown in FIG. 10. This plane pulse motor includes the stage surface plate 61 on which comb-shaped magnetic members are arranged with an equal interval, and the movable slider 62 in which a plurality of armature coils having comb-shaped portions having a different phase facing the comb-shaped magnetic members and a permanent magnet form a yoke. By changing reluctance by causing a current to flow in the armature coils, a thrust for driving the movable slider 62 is generated. By controlling a pulse current supplied to each of the armature coils, a stepping operation is performed.
Although the above-described plane motor can perform very precise positioning and has excellent thrust linearity, a large current must be supplied in order to obtain a large thrust, thereby causing a problem of heating of the armature coils. Accordingly, in order to mitigate thermal influence, a design of cooling using a refrigerant, or the like, is in progress. However, since a yoke having armature coils generates a strong thrust, it is bonded to the movable slider using resin or an organic compound. Accordingly, it is difficult to form a refrigerant channel for efficiently cooling the armature coils. FIG. 11 illustrates a conventional cooling structure. In FIG. 11, there are shown a cooling-refrigerant inlet 71, a cooling-refrigerant outlet 72, and a cooling-channel direction 73. According to such a cooling method, heating of a corner portion 74 cannot be suppressed.
A plane motor according to an electromagnetic-force driving method using a Lorentz's force includes the stage surface plate 61 in which a permanent magnet magnetized so as to arrange a plurality of pairs of an S pole and an N pole with an equal interval is disposed, and the movable slider 62 in which an air-core armature coil wound so as to face the permanent magnet is disposed. In the plane motor of this type, by causing a current to flow in the armature coil, a Lorentz's force according to the Fleming's left-hand rule is generated to drive the movable slider 62. In this case, also, a structure for efficiently cooling the armature coil has been desired.
As described above, in plane pulse motors for stage apparatuses, although design of cooling has been proceeding in order to suppress influence by heat, a cooling structure having better efficiency is being requested. Furthermore, since the current movable slider and stage surface plate are integrated, an integrated structure must be newly manufactured when there is a change in specifications, such as an increase in the thrust, or the like.

Plane motor device with surrounding member surrounding coil unit and with cooling channel provided within surrounding member