A weather-fastness test method utilizing a novel sample holder and constituted by the steps of fixing the sample to the holder which is provided with metal coils the shape of which varies in accordance with the variation in the temperature of the ambient air and the radiation heat from a light source and which are connected so as to apply a force to the sample as the temperature changes, placing the sample under predetermined conditions, e.g. exposing the sample to radiation by light, to air having a temperature and humidity of predetermined levels, and to rain, while the sample is under repeated tension, compressive force and/or bending stress due to the variation of the shape of the coils and imparted to the sample, and then evaluating the weather-fastness resistance of the sample.

The weathering tests which have heretofore generally been conducted include such tests known as an accelerated weather-fastness test, which is a test carried out in a laboratory under predetermined conditions, e.g. exposing a sample, placed in an enclosure similar to the environment in which it is to be used, to the radiation of light, to air having a temperature and humidity of predetermined levels, and to rain in an accelerated weather-fastness testing machine such as is shown in FIG. 4, and atmospheric exposure tests carried out by placing a sample directly in a natural outdoor environment.
The accelerated weather-fastness testing machine 11 shown in FIG. 4 is used in a weather-fastness test conducted by placing a light source 13 in the central portion of a test chamber 12, attaching a sample 15 to a holder 16 (for example, the holder shown in FIG. 5A) in an unstressed state, i.e. without any tension, compressive force or bending stress applied thereto, and having the holder 6 on a sample frame 14 adapted to be rotated around the light source 13.
A weather-fastness test method as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 35346/1989, is carried out by using a holder 17 as shown in FIG. 5B, by which stress (e.g. tensile stress) of a predetermined level is constantly and positively imparted to a sample 15. The outdoor exposure test methods shown and described, for example, in JIS D 0205, include a method carried out on a rubber-like sample exposed as it is, and a method carried out by using a rubber-like sample bent in a looped state under bending stress of a predetermined level constantly and positively imparted thereto.
These weather-fastness tests which have heretofore generally been conducted are carried out with a sample in a static state, i.e. in a state in which stress is not imparted to the sample, or in a dynamic state in which stress of a predetermined level is constantly imparted to the sample.
A weather-fastness test method requires that: (1) the deteriorated condition of a sample have some correlation with the deteriorated condition which would be seen if the sample were subjected to exposure in its intended condition of use, i.e. outdoors; (2) the method be highly accelerated in comparison with an atmospheric exposure test method which places the sample in its intended condition of use; and (3) the tests conducted be repeatedly under the same conditions and be reproducible.
Many materials and products in practical use are under tensile stress, compressive stress and/or bending stress at all times. Since the force generating such stress generally varies with temperature, the level of stress imparted to the materials and products is not always constant, but rather it varies as the temperature varies. For example, the temperature of a material used as an interior facing material for an automobile varies repeatedly in accordance with the variation of the outdoor temperature. Since the temperature inside an automobile due to the outdoor temperature can increase as much as 100.degree. C. in the daytime and drop to 20.degree. C. in the nighttime, the level of stress imparted to the material also varies.
However, a conventional weather-fastness test method, which is used to test a sample in a static or dynamic state as described previously, does not test a sample by reproducing the repetition of variation of the stress generation force imparted to the materials and products to which they are subjected during their intended use.
Therefore, in a test using an accelerated weather-fastness test method, the deteriorated condition of a sample placed in its intended condition of use may not be accurately reproduced, so that the deteriorated condition of a sample tested in such a machine may have little correlation with that of a sample placed in its intended condition of use. Since the variation of stress is taken into consideration in any test conducted under actual conditions of use, it is necessary that a material or product to be placed in practical use be tested under the conditions of such use in any testing method. This requires a large space for carrying out such tests, and the expenditure of a lot of money.

Weathering test method and sample holder used therein


The invention relates to an aqueous fluoropolymer, and preferably polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), composition for manufacturing electrodes for use in non-aqueous-type electrochemical devices, such as batteries and electric double layer capacitors. The composition contains aqueous PVDF binder, and one or more powdery electrode-forming materials. In one embodiment, the composition is free of fluorinated surfactant In another embodiment, one or more fugitive adhesion promoters are added. The electrode formed from the composition of the invention exhibits interconnectivity and irreversibility that is achieved from the use of aqueous PVDF binder.

There is a trend in the electronics industry to produce smaller devices, powered by smaller and lighter batteries. Batteries of non-aqueous electrolytic solutions in combination with a negative electrode—such as a lithium compound or carbonaceous material with lithium ions, and a positive electrode—such as lithium metal oxides can provide higher power and lower weight.
Polyvinylidene fluoride, because of its excellent electro-chemical resistance and superb adhesion among fluoropolymers, has been found to be a useful binder for forming electrodes to be used in non-aqueous electrolytic devices. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,776,637 and 6,200,703, incorporated herein by reference, describe a PVDF binder solution in organic solvents with a powdery electrode material for use in forming an electrode to be used in a non-aqueous-type battery. JP 2000357505 describes PVDF blended with a positive active material and carbon and then dissolved in NMP as the solvent to produce a paste. The process is in line with conventional solvent casting processes for electrodes where a large amount of NMP solvent is used as a dispersion media.
The role of the organic solvent is generally to dissolve PVDF in order to provide good adhesion (non-reversible adhesion) between the powdery electrode material particles upon evaporation of the organic solvent. Currently, the organic solvent of choice is N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). PVDF binder cast from a solvent solution provides non-reversible adhesion in electrodes and an interconnectivity of all the active ingredients in the electrode composition. The bound ingredients are able to tolerate large volume expansion and contraction during charge and discharge cycles without losing interconnectivity within the electrodes. Interconnectivity of the active ingredients in an electrode is extremely important in battery performance, especially during charging and discharging cycles, as electrons must move across the electrode, and lithium ion mobility requires interconnectivity within the electrode between powdery particles.
Unfortunately, there are several issues with these organic-solvent based binder compositions. A large amount of solvent is required for traditional electrode casting process because the slurry exhibits an abnormally high viscosity at higher concentration levels of PVDF (above 10-20 wt %), making the preparation of the electrode-forming composition difficult and the suppression of gelation of the electrode-forming composition difficult as well.
Further, the organic-solvent-based slurry presents safety, health and environmental dangers that are not present in an aqueous system. Organic solvents are generally toxic and flammable, volatile in nature, and involve special manufacturing controls to mitigate risk and reduce environmental pollution from the organic solvent. In addition, a large carbon footprint is associated with use of organic solvents that is not environmentally desirable. Further, extra manufacturing steps, costing time, money, and energy are involved to isolate PVDF formed in an aqueous media, drying the PVDF to a powder, then dissolving the powder in a solvent.
There is an environmentally-driven, and safety-driven desire to be able to produce excellent, interconnective PVDF-based electrodes, without the massive use of organic solvents.
To effectively employ waterborne slurries in electrode-forming processes, it is important to develop binder systems that are compatible with current manufacturing practices and provide desired properties of the intermediate and final products. Some common criteria include: a) stability of the waterborne fluoropolymer dispersion, having sufficient shelf-life, b) stability of the slurry after admixing the powdery material, c) appropriate viscosity of the slurry to facilitate good aqueous casting, and d) sufficient interconnectivity within the electrode which is non-reversible after drying. Additionally, from a regulatory view, fluoropolymers made without fluorosurfactants are preferred.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,282,528 entitled "electrode additive" describes fluoropolymer dispersions for cathode electrodes, which are made by using per-fluorinated surfactants. Surfactants that do not substantially remain in the electrode after drying are post-added to the fluoropolymer dispersions during concentration of the dispersion. The patent fails to teach or suggest the use of fluoropolymer made with non-fluorinated surfactant, or the use of fugitive adhesion promoters to provide interconnectivity in the electrode that is non-reversible, and exemplifies the use of only polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) binders, or blends of other fluoropolymers with 50% or more PTFE. The negative electrode of the examples uses a conventional solvent-based PVDF solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,659,335 describes similar fluoropolymer dispersions useful as electrode binders, with a specific class of non-ionic post-polymerization stabilizer. While many fluoropolymers are listed, "PTFE is preferred since melt-processing is substantially impossible". There is no mention of fugitive adhesion promoters that could provide interconnectivity within the electrode or any other ingredients that are required. There are large differences in the properties of, processing of, and final electrodes formed from PTFE and PVDF binders. PTFE polymers have very high melting points and exhibit very strong resistance to common solvents. As a result, PTFE particles are not able to soften, flow, and adhere to powdery particles and to provide interconnectivity within an electrode. Additionally, PTFE and its blends with other fluoropolymers do not meet some of the criteria needed to form proper electrodes including stability of the waterborne fluoropolymer dispersion with sufficient shelf-life and PTFE binders do not provide sufficient interconnectivity in electrodes which is non-reversible. PVDF based binders made in accordance with this invention exhibit sufficient shelf stability, do not need concentrating steps, and as opposed to PTFE based binders, provide connectivity by adding fugitive adhesion promoters. The PVDF polymer particles are able to soften, flow and adhere to powdery materials during electrode manufacture, resulting electrodes with high connectivity that are non-reversible.
Surprisingly, a stable, aqueous electrode-forming composition has now been found for producing high quality electrodes for non-aqueous batteries and other devices having interconnectivity and irreversibility. The composition contains one or more fluoropolymers, preferably PVDF, powdery electrode material, and optionally surfactants, and fugitive adhesion promoters. Preferably the aqueous composition is free of fluorinated surfactants. The aqueous composition of the invention provides many performance, manufacturing and environmental advantages over solvent-based PVDF compositions and solvent or aqueous PTFE compositions:                a) Aqueous PVDF-based compositions are safer to use and process, less hazardous to health, and more environmentally friendly than solvent-based PVDF compositions.        b) Aqueous PVDF dispersions are advantageously synthesized using non-fluorinated surfactant.        c) Aqueous PVDF dispersions can be used as synthesized, without the need for isolating and drying to a powder, or concentration of the latex—saving time and energy.        c) Water has a lower boiling point than typically used organic solvents, so the coating can be dried at a lower temperature, or a shorter period of time, if desired.        d) Aqueous PVDF dispersions contain PVDF particles that can be softened to adhere to electrode-forming particles by using fugitive adhesion promoters—resulting in non-reversible connectivity between powdery electrode materials. The interconnectivity can be accomplished without completely coating the powdery electrode material—requiring less polymer and also creating less electrical resistance        e) PVDF-based compositions provide good connectivity, while the PTFE in PTFE-based compositions remain as discrete particles in the electrode.        f) Carbon black is easily dispersed in PVDF, but not in PTFE, and the increased dispersion increases the conductivity.

Aqueous polyvinylidene fluoride composition


A resin composition is provided which is excellent in impact resistance, heat resistance, moldability, and chemical resistance and which is suitable, for example, as a molding material for a portable terminal housing. An aromatic polycarbonate composite resin composition contains, with respect to 100 parts by mass of a resin component formed of 60 to 90 parts by mass of an aromatic polycarbonate resin (A) and 10 to 40 parts by mass of a polyester resin (B), 3 to 20 parts by mass of a graft copolymer (C) formed by graft polymerization of a (meth)acrylic acid ester compound with a diene-based rubber and 0.005 to 0.1 parts by mass of a stabilizer (D). The graft copolymer (C) has a sulfur content of 100 to 1,500 ppm and an average particle diameter of 70 to 240 nm, and the stabilizer (D) is an organic phosphate compound represented by the following general formula (I).O═P(OH)m(OR)3-m  (I)R represents an alkyl group or an aryl group. m represents 0 to 2.

An aromatic polycarbonate resin is excellent in impact resistance, heat resistance, rigidity, dimensional stability, and the like. An aromatic polycarbonate resin therefore has been widely used in various applications, such as electric apparatuses, communication apparatuses, precision machines, automobile components, and the like.
Various studies have been made about compounding an aromatic polycarbonate resin with a polyester resin such as a poly(ethylene terephthalate) for improving chemical resistance of an aromatic polycarbonate resin. Patent Document 1 discloses a thermoplastic resin composition which has a high chemical resistance while maintaining a good fluidity and which is excellent in impact resistance, heat resistance, rigidity, and thermal stability. The thermoplastic resin composition includes an aromatic polycarbonate having a viscosity average molecular weight of 16,000 to 23,000, a poly(ethylene terephthalate) resin which has an intrinsic viscosity value (IV value) of 0.45 to 0.57 dl/g and a terminal carboxyl group amount of 20 to 35 eq/ton, and a rubber type polymer.
Patent Document 2 discloses an aromatic polycarbonate resin having fluidity, rigidity, heat resistance, impact resistance, chemical resistance, and fatigue resistance respectively in good balance. The aromatic polycarbonate resin composition includes an aromatic polycarbonate resin, a poly(butylene terephthalate) resin, and a rubber type polymer. The poly(butylene terephthalate) resin has a titanium compound content more than 1 to 75 ppm expressed as a content of a titanium atom, and has a terminal carboxyl group concentration of 39 μeq/g or less.
A housing of a portable terminal including a mobile phone, a smart phone, a portable game machine, and an electronic notebook has been required to reduce its size, thickness, weight, and cost, so that housings formed from thermoplastic resins have been widely used.
A thermoplastic resin composition used as a molding material for housing of a portable terminal requires having the following characteristics.    (1) Moldability having excellent fluidity and being capable of molding even a housing having a small wall thickness and a complicated shape with high accuracy. A short molding cycle is also required for improving productivity of a housing.    (2) Impact resistance by which no breakage occurs when a molded article is dropped by mistake in handling. The impact resistance is required to be excellent not only at an ordinary temperature but also in a low-temperature environment such as in winter or in a cold area.    (3) Chemical resistance by which no degradation occurs even if a cosmetic, a detergent, a chemical, and/or the like is adhered to a molded article.    (4) Durability against ambient environment in which a molded article is used. In particular, a high heat resistance under high temperature conditions in midsummer (such as an inside of an automobile parked under scorching sun) is required. The heat resistance is also required to satisfy the durability against baking in a coating operation. A sufficiently high heat resistance is also required even when a molding material is exposed to a long-term thermal history during molding. This heat resistance is referred to as the "residence heat resistance" in the present specification.

Aromatic polycarbonate composite resin composition and molded article


An internal bus architecture capable of providing high speed inter-connection and inter-communication between modules connected in an integrated circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The internal bus architecture includes multiple interface units for interfacing with the modules of the ASIC and at least one basic modular unit coupled to the interface units for allowing simultaneous data transfers between the interface units. Each of the basic modular units has an upload unit for transferring upstream data, and a download unit for transferring downstream data.

In most computer systems, communications between different components is typically provided by a bus. The bus architecture is designed to be well established and portable such that it can be utilized in multiple configurations without excessive additional development expenses when designing for derivative products. In addition a bus is designed to perform high-speed communication processing to support an increase in frequency of a processor's clock.
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary block diagram of a typical bus architecture of a bus 100 operative within a computer system. The typical bus architecture of a computer system carries data and control flows. The bus 100 is a physical implementation of shared connections between all components within a computer system for the purpose of inter-communication. The communication is defined by, in most cases, a strict bus protocol. The bus protocol regulates the inter-communication between all components attached to bus 100. The bus 100 typically consists of an arbitration unit 110, used to determine which one of the attached components to the bus 100 should control the operations on the bus at a selected time. Arbitration unit 110 assigns the ownership of bus 100 for any given operation. The bus 100 also includes a management unit 120 for providing higher-level functions associated with system operations such as queue management and bus monitoring for error detections. Functional components are attached to bus 100 through respective interface units 140-1 to 140-N. To the extent that reference is made to the interface units without regard to a specific one thereof, such interface device(s) will be referenced as 140. Thus, each interface unit 140 is capable of generating control signals and transferring data across bus 100. The interface units 140 may interface with components, such as processors, controllers (e.g., disk controllers), and so on. Examples of buses employing such a bus architecture are a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, a small computer systems interface (SCSI) bus, and the like. Other examples of similar bus architectures may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,001,625, 5,796,964, and 6,314,484, each of which is incorporated herein by reference for their useful background descriptions of the state of the art heretofore.
Another type of bus architecture disclosed in the related art is mainly utilized in application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). This type of bus architecture is also referred to as an "internal bus". Typically, an ASIC includes one or more core processors, one or more memory units, and other functional modules, all integrated on a single semiconductor chip. Having the modules on the same chip allows data to be easily and quickly transferred between the various modules. To provide high speed data transfers on a chip, specialized buses are designed specifically for this purpose. One example for such specialized bus is the advanced high-performance bus (AHB), developed by ARM™ Ltd. The AHB operates in accordance with the advanced microcontroller bus architecture (AMBA) protocol and provides high-speed data transfers between various components on a chip. Another example is the advanced peripheral bus (APB), which provides the basic peripheral macro-cell communication infrastructure as a secondary bus from the higher bandwidth pipelined main system bus. The APB is designed to reduce interface complexity for the support of peripheral functions. A detailed description of the AHB and APB architectures may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,442,642, 6,810,460, 6,633,944, and 6,857,037, each of which is incorporated herein by reference for its useful background description of the state of the art heretofore. A limitation of the AHB, APB in addition to other types of internal buses is their inability to support inter-connection and inter-communication between the various modules on an ASIC.
Therefore, in the view of the limitations of in the prior art, it would be advantageous to provide a high-speed internal bus architecture that supports both inter-connection and inter-communication among various modules connected in an integrated circuit (IC).

High-speed internal bus architecture for an integrated circuit


The present invention is directed to a low loss motor lamination steel having a relatively low alloy content, which has a composition such that the motor lamination steel is fully ferritic at all solid temperatures. The steel preferably includes 1.20-1.40 wt. % silicon, 0.25-0.40 wt. % aluminum, 0.15-0.30 wt. % manganese and not more than 0.005 wt. % carbon. The processes for producing the fully ferritic low loss motor lamination steel include a hot band anneal followed by cold rolling, and a two-stage or double cold roll process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to low loss semi-processed, cold rolled, motor lamination steels and processes for producing such steels.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous prior patents have issued in the field of electrical and motor lamination steels, disclosing steels and production processes therefor which were developed with the goal of obtaining low core losses and high magnetic permeability. Silicon steels, generally having a silicon content in the range of 3 wt. % and higher, have been used as electrical steels. Such steels are expensive to produce, and require great care and control over the processing conditions. Steels having significantly lower silicon contents have also been proposed, but there continues to be a great need for economical motor lamination steels having significantly improved magnetic properties.
A recently issued patent to Lauer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,696, is directed to an electrical steel that is disclosed as possessing good magnetic and mechanical properties. This steel is an example of a steel having a very low carbon content, as well as a relatively low silicon content, proposed for use as an electrical steel. The disclosure in the Lauer et al. patent evidences that the processing of the steel will result in the steel having either an austenitic microstructure or a dual-phase austenitic/ferritic microstructure during hot rolling. The Lauer et al. patent attributes the improved magnetic properties to the use of a very light temper reduction of 1.0% (or less) thickness reduction, as compared with more traditional temper rolling with thickness reductions on the order of 3-8%.
For certain applications, low loss motor lamination steels are required to have a maximum 1.74 W/# (watts/pound) core loss, and a minimum of 2000 G/Oe (Gauss/Oersted) magnetic permeability. In such applications, the steel sheet used will have a nominal thickness of 0.0185", alternatively referred to as 26 gauge steel sheet. Lauer et al. discloses that the steels obtained therein have good magnetic properties, however the steels disclosed in Lauer et al. have core losses that far exceed the core loss maximum (1.74 W/#) in the above-noted requirement.
Numerous other patents and publications exist which are directed to low loss electrical or motor lamination steels. None, however, teach or suggest the product and process of the present invention, in which the motor lamination steel meets the above-mentioned magnetic property requirements.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a low loss motor lamination steel having improved magnetic properties, wherein the steel is fully ferritic upon solidification and remains ferritic throughout the processing into a final product.
It is an additional principal object of the present invention to provide a low loss motor lamination steel that minimizes the use of alloy additions to thereby further improve the magnetic properties of the steel.
It is a further principal object of the present invention to provide processes for producing a low loss motor lamination steel having magnetic properties which have a maximum 1.74 W/# core loss and a minimum 2000 G/Oe permeability.
It is a further important object of the present invention to provide a steel and processes for making the steel in which the final grain size is maximized, and in which the {hkl} textures are minimized, with the {hk0} and {h00} textures maximized.


A vertical cavity surface emitting laser element is provided that includes a substrate, a first semiconductor multilayer reflector including plural pairs of layers having differing refractive indexes and thermal resistances, a resonator region including an active layer, and a second semiconductor multilayer reflector including plural pairs of layers having differing refractive indexes and thermal resistances.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a surface emitting laser element that emits light in a vertical direction with respect to a substrate, a surface emitting laser array including such surface emitting laser elements, and an optical scanning apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and am optical communication system that use light emitted from such surface emitting laser element or surface emitting laser array.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) is a semiconductor laser that emits light in a vertical direction with respect to a substrate. Since the VCSEL does not require a cleavage process, may be integrated into a two-dimensional parallel arrangement, and may be easily inspected, it is suitably used in various consumer appliances such as the light source of an image forming apparatus, the light source of an optical pickup device, the optical communication light source of an optical interconnection, for example.
The VCSEL used in such appliances desirably has an active layer with a large gain, a low threshold value, high optical power, reliability, and adequately controlled polarization. However, since the volume of the active layer of the VCSEL is relatively small, the optical power of the VCSEL may be relatively low compared to an edge emitting semiconductor laser.
Generally, the optical power, optical spectrum, mode, and service life of a semiconductor laser are affected by the degree of thermal diffusion resulting from current injection. It is particularly noted that since the VCSEL has its active layer arranged between semiconductor multilayer reflector (DBR: Distributed Bragg Reflector) mirrors that have high thermal resistance, significant temperature increase may occur in the active layer.
Accordingly, techniques have been proposed for controlling such temperature increase in the active layer of the VCSEL. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-164621 discloses a surface emitting semiconductor laser element having a bottom DBR made of AlGaAs material, wherein AlAs, which has the lowest thermal resistance among AlGaAs materials, is used as a lower refractive index layer making up a large portion of the lower side of the bottom DBR.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-354061 discloses a VCSEL that includes a high thermal conductivity layer arranged between an active area and a DBR or within the DBR. The disclosed VCSEL may use AlAs as the high thermal conductivity layer material and further arranges the high thermal conductivity layer to have adequate thickness.

Surface emitting laser element, surface emitting laser array, optical scanning apparatus, image forming apparatus, and optical communication system


An image processing apparatus includes a character-area extracting unit that extracts a character area in which characters are displayed from image data including characters, a character-color converting unit that converts the color of characters in the character area extracted by the character-area extracting unit to a predetermined prescribed character color, and a background-color converting unit that converts a background color of the background, which is an area other than the characters in the character area extracted by the character-area extracting unit to a predetermined prescribed background color.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and an image processing program that process image data including characters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with a trend of so-called "barrier-free" and "universal design", it has become important to create documents that can be easily understood by elderly persons, visually impaired persons, and persons having defective color perception. Particularly, the importance of improving the visibility of characters by designing an area of characters and an area other than characters, that is, by designing a combination of background colors, is recognized. Furthermore, designing of colors in drawings and graphs has also been considered as an important issue. For example, a method of printing clearer maps by correcting color designing and the thickness of characters is disclosed (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3101105). Thus, in document creation, it is expected to perform color designing from a barrier-free viewpoint.
Imaging devices in which various types of color correction with respect to a scanned image are incorporated have been known. These devices intend to improve contrast and tone in printing on paper and screen display, while maintaining the original hue (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 2004-252866 and 2001-216498).
However, in the case of a document in which arrangement of colors in a created document itself or the configuration thereof is not appropriate, its readability cannot be improved even by improving contrast and tone. Particularly, there are many documents, which are not easy to read for visually impaired or handicapped persons, since these documents are not created from a barrier-free viewpoint.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and computer program product


A fixing tool for fixing an object to be fixed against an opponent member upon pinioning includes a male screw member screwed into a female screw portion formed on the opponent member side and a pinion member for pinioning the object to be fixed in the opponent direction. The male screw member includes a first axis portion formed with a male screw and a head portion having a non-circular contour formed at an upper end of the first axis portion. The pinion member includes a through hole into which the first axis portion of the male screw portion is inserted, seat portions that are formed inside of the through hole at which the head portion of the male screw member is seated, and engaging portions that pinch the head portion between the seat portions for engaging the head portion in a detachable manner.

Various fixing tools are conventionally known that are mounted to a vehicle body of an automobile or the like through screw tightening for fixing an object to be fixed to the vehicle body through pinioning. For example, there is known a fixing tool that is mounted to an underfloor portion of a luggage compartment of an automobile for fixing a spare tire to the vehicle body of the automobile by means of a screw so that the tire is pinioned to the vehicle body. Such a fixing tool is generally comprised of a pinion member for pinioning the tire in the vehicle body direction and a bolt to which the pinion member is integrally mounted and that is screwed into a female screw portion formed at the vehicle body. Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 6-83577(1994) suggests a bolt for holding a spare tire in which an axis portion of the bolt and a head portion that concurrently serves as a tab when screwing-in the bolt are integrally formed. According to this bolt for holding a spare tire with the above structure, it is possible to reduce the number of components and to simplify manufacturing processes since it will not be necessary to fit a washer or the like into the axis portion of the bolt.
However, since the above prior art is arranged in that the bolt and the pinion member, which are made of different materials, are integrally formed, it will be necessary to separate both members for reuse upon recycling, and a drawback is presented in that the recycling efficiency is degraded.
The present invention has been made for solving the above subjects, and it is an object thereof to provide a fixing tool that exhibits superior recycling efficiency and that is capable of reliably fixing an object to be fixed to an opponent member.


A method and system forwards voice messages from a sender to a receiver through a network. A voice-mail device records a phone number of a receiver and a voice message of a sender within a digital file. The voice message and phone number are encapsulated within an e-mail, which is forwarded through a network to another voice-mail device that acts as a gateway. The e-mail is opened to obtain the phone number of the receiver and the voice message, and the phone number of the receiver is dialed to deliver the voice message to the receiver via a telephone network.

For delivering messages over long distances or among international countries, several communication systems have been developed by those skilled in the art. A first communications system is the traditional telephone communications system using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). A second communication system is the recently developed system using Voice Over Internet Phones (VoIP) for voice phone calls. The third communication system is the common e-mail transmission, which is used by millions everyday. A fourth communication system is known as Fone2web™, also referred to as Phone2web.
As known to those skilled in the art, Fone2web™ is an internet voice communication system that enables telephone users to exchange voice messages with personal computer users. The system bridges phone users to the internet for voice communications with e-mail users. It has been developed by Fone2web.com in Silicon Valley, Calif., and includes a Chincom Group Corporation as a China division. In this type of system, it is possible to use phone-to-phone, phone-to-PC, and PC-to-phone communications.
In a phone-to-phone communication, a voice message is sent to another Fone2web™-by-phone user over the internet. A server accepts the message, routes the message to another server nearest the destination, and drops the message to the recipient's Fone2web™-by-phone box. In this system it is also possible to use a telephone to send a voice message to anyone in the world who has a regular e-mail box. The voice message will be delivered to the recipient's regular e-mail box. The recipient would see the icon for the voice message and click the attachment file. At this time, a "phone-to-web VE mailer™ will appear and play the message. It is also possible to send voice messages to any e-mail box in the world, and also broadcast to a list of audiences. Messages can also be stored.
Ordinary long or international distance phone calls provide a convenient and high quality two-way communications for millions of everyday users. This type of communication system, however, is still expensive because it uses circuit switching techniques with expensive digital switches and sometimes local loop carriers. VoIP, on the other hand, uses economy packet switching to communicate, but requires expensive equipment, making this communication system prohibitively expensive in some cases. Also, the quality of the voice is poor in comparison to standard long distance or international calls.
As those skilled in the art understand, e-mail has been the most successful application on the Internet. It is inexpensive and provides faster delivery than ordinary mail. An e-mail user only requires a computer connecting to the Internet in some manner. It still typically requires the use of computer for e-mail communications, however.
In recent years, many efforts have been placed on using cellular phones or a personal digital assistants (PDA) to send/receive e-mail messages to obtain greater mobility to a user. But this is still not as convenient as sending voice. In particular, keying Chinese characters on a cellular phone or PDA is very difficult. Although recent developments of Fone2web™ delivers voice messages through the Internet, the system is expensive, and the delivered voice message is stored in a voice-mailbox. The receiver must retrieve the message by calling a voice-mailbox. The calling of a voice-mailbox is not convenient and prompt for some users.

Voice message transfer between a sender and a receiver


A container for storing and shipping a stack of glass sheets on edge sandwiches the sheets between a lower baseboard and an upper cap board, the stack and boards being enveloped by corrugated front and rear covers. Side flaps of the covers are secured to each other to prevent racking of the stack and vertical banding is provided around the covers. The cap board extends beyond the side flaps for handling by a sling with the banding supporting the stack from the cap board, and the baseboard is supported on feet for handling by a forklift. The cap board and front and corrugated covering may be provided in one piece which spans the entire stack or in two pieces with the pieces at opposite ends of the stack and the stack exposed between them.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage and shipping containers, and in particular to a container for storing and shipping flat sheets or panels vertically oriented on edge in a horizontal stack, and especially glass lites.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Sheets, and in particular glass sheets, often referred to as lites, are oftentimes shipped in horizontal stacks, in which a number of lites are vertically oriented on edge. Particularly for lites, there is a very low co-efficient of friction between adjacent lites, so the horizontal stack tends to rack transversely, i.e. to go from a rectangular or slightly trapezoidal cross-section to being more trapezoidal. Once racking begins, it is difficult to stop, the effects of gravity being what they are.
Containers for such horizontal stacks have typically supported at least one wall of the container vertically so as to prevent the stack from racking and ultimately falling over. Such a container is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,922 issued Aug. 28, 1984. In this container, a vertical back wall is secured upright to a horizontal base and reinforced in position by diagonally running elongate tension members, to keep the back wall from falling backward. The lites extend above a lower container section which encircles the horizontal stack. The base is a pallet so it can be handled by mechanized handling equipment. The containers can be stacked one on the other, with the upper pallets supported on top of the glass lites in the lower containers.
Since some sheet materials such as glass, ceramics or glass ceramics can be easily chipped or broken, it is desirable to give a high degree of protection from outside forces or completely enclose a stack of such sheets in the container. It is also desirable that multiple containers, although they can be very heavy, can be stacked one on top of the other, and it is desirable that the containers can be handled by a variety of mechanized or automated handling equipment, such as either a forklift truck or an overhead wire rope or chain sling. In addition, the container should provide support against racking of the stack either frontward or backward, and so that the container maintains a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

Container for horizontally stacked sheets


Provided is a pupil tracking device, which measures a pupil center position of an eye moving according to an optokinetic reflex, and a proximity depth between a pupil and an object, the pupil tracking device including a light source configured to output infrared light, a display configured to output object light, a waveguide configured to guide the infrared light and the object light towards a direction to the pupil, a film configured to separate the infrared reflected by a cornea of the eye into a plurality of light beams, and an optical pickup configured to detect the plurality of light beams and measure the pupil center position and the proximity depth.

The present disclosure herein relates to a pupil tracking device and a pupil tracking method, and more particularly, to a pupil tracking device and a pupil tracking method for measuring a pupil center position and a proximity depth between an object and a pupil moving by an optokinetic reflex.
In order to implement a virtual reality or augmented reality technique, a smart glass adopts a technique for detecting a user's pupil and measuring the pupil position. Typically, a device configured to track the pupil on the basis of movement of the eyes by a vestibulo-ocular reflex requires a user to move his or her head. Accordingly, in order to effectively provide a gaze tracking service to the user who wears the smart glass, a technique is required capable of detecting movement of the eyes regardless of the movement of the head.
In addition, in order to conveniently use the smart glass, a technique is also required capable of detecting movement of pupils without a binocular camera or a beamforming device.

Pupil tracking device and pupil tracking method for measuring pupil center position and proximity depth between object and pupil moving by optokinetic reflex

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Systems and methods for providing a video electronic programming guide (“video EPG”) may include outputting a primary program for display on a display screen, receiving a command to activate the video EPG, and in response to receiving the command, outputting a plurality of widgets for display on a display screen. Each of the plurality of widgets may represent a category of broadcast programs. Systems and methods may include receiving a widget selection for one of the plurality of widgets and outputting a video menu corresponding to the selected widget for display on the display screen. The video menu includes a plurality of video scenes, whereby each of the plurality of video scenes represents a broadcast program categorized in the selected widget. Systems and methods may include receiving a program selection for one of the plurality of video scenes.

Television viewers watching a live or recorded program on a display device may be aware that there are other programs of interest being broadcast at the same moment. The television viewers may wish to view the other programs, for instance for an update on events in the other programs. In that case, the television viewer may press a media guide button on a remote control to activate an electronic programming guide ("EPG") window, which is then output on the primary screen to allow the viewer to browse up or down through the EPG and select the other programs of interest. Typically, the EPG is a large grid of text including broadcast programming titles and their scheduled times. In one example, if a television viewer watching a football game on the primary screen wishes to view three other football games that are also being broadcast at that time, the television viewer must open up and scroll through the EPG to locate the broadcast channels of the other games and observe the other games individually. In some cases, the television viewer must bring up each channel of the three other football games on the primary screen in order to observe the contents of those channels, which may replace the football game that was originally displayed on the primary screen. In that case, events in the original football game may potentially be missed. In another example, the EPG may take up the entire television screen and obstruct or prohibit viewing of the original football game. In still another example, the television viewer may discover, after having opened the EPG and turned to the other channels, that a commercial break is being broadcast instead of the other football game contents. As such, current approaches are cumbersome, time-consuming, and may lead to discouraging viewer experiences. There is a need for improved systems and methods for EPGs. This application is intended to address such issues and provide related advantages.


Disclosed is a member which is superior in anti-fungus property and anti-alga property, and is coated with a surface treatment coating comprising at least a layer having anti-fungus property and/or anti-alga property laminated between a topmost surface functional layer and a base, wherein the layer having anti-fungus property and/or anti-alga property comprises 80% or more of Ni, 0.1 to 10% of P, and 0.0001 to 1% of hydrogen, holes reaching the surface of the layer having anti-fungus property and/or anti-alga property are present in the topmost surface functional layer so as to penetrate the topmost surface functional layer, the opening area ratio thereof to the total area when the topmost surface functional layer is viewed in plan being from 0.001 to 10%, or the elution amount of Ni is from 0.1 to 50 μg/cm2/week when the member is immersed in still water at 30° C.

In recent years, adoption of metal material to which antibacterial property, anti-mold property or anti-alga property is given has been investigated not only for applications in the food processing industry and the medical industry but also for diary necessities in order to block the growth of bacteria, mold, algae and so on from the viewpoint of hygiene.
The present inventors suggested metal materials caused to have antibacterial property, anti-mold property and anti-alga property (JP-A No. 11-343592 and JP-A No. 2000-198709). These metal materials (members) are made mainly of Ni, and are materials comprising, on the surface thereof, a coating in which P, Co, H and so on are controlled. The antibacterial property, anti-mold property, and anti-alga property thereof, and the persistence of these properties are better than those of conventional anti-fungus members.
However, in the above-mentioned members, the surface coating is caused to have such functions as antibacterial effect, anti-mold property effect and anti-alga effect; therefore, there may be cases in which other required properties (for example, hardness, discoloration resistance, fingerprint adhesion resistance, color tone, glossiness, corrosion resistance, scratch resistance, and so on) based on the structure of the surface cannot be sufficiently satisfied.
In light of the above-mentioned situations, the present invention has been made. An object thereof is to provide a member to which not only functions of suppressing the propagation of at least one of bacteria, mold or algae but also other functions based on the structure of its surface are given; and a production process thereof.

Member excellent in antibacterial antimold and/or antialgae effects and process for producing the same


A control device controls a switching converter. The converter has an input alternating supply voltage, a regulated direct voltage on the output terminal, and a switch connected to an inductor. The control device controls the closing and opening time period of said switch for each cycle and receives a first input signal representative of the current flowing through one element of the converter. The control device comprises a counter configured to count a time period, a comparator configured to compare said first input signal with a second signal, digital control block configured to control the closing and opening of said switch and to activate said counter to start the counting of said time period when the said first input signal crosses said second signal, with said switch being closed. The digital control block is configured to open the switch when the counter finishes the counting of said time period.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a digital control device of a switching power supply.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is generally known to use devices for actively correcting the power factor (PFC) of switching power supplies used in common electronic apparatuses such as computers, televisions, monitors, etc., and for supplying power to fluorescent lamps, i.e., switching pre-regulator stages which must absorb a current from the power line, said current is quasi-sinusoidal and in phase with the supply voltage. A switching power supply of the current type thus comprises a PFC and a DC-DC converter connected to the PFC output.
A typical switching power supply comprises a DC-DC converter and an input stage connected to the power distribution line which comprises a full-wave diode rectifier bridge and a capacitor connected downstream so as to produce a non-regulated direct voltage from the sinusoidal alternating supply voltage. The capacitor has a great enough capacitance for a relatively small ripple being present at its terminals as compared to a direct level. Therefore the rectifier diodes of the bridge will only conduct over a short portion of each half cycle of the supply voltage, as the instantaneous value thereof is less than the voltage of the capacitor over most of the cycle. The result is the current absorbed by the power line consists of a series of short impulses the amplitude of which is 5-10 times the resulting average value.
This has significant consequences: the current absorbed from the power line has peak and rms (root-mean-square) values much higher than the case of sinusoidal current absorption, the supply voltage is distorted due to the almost simultaneous impulse absorption of all utilities connected to the power line, the current in the neutral conductor in the case of three-phase systems is highly increased and there is low use of the energy potentials of the power system. In fact, the waveform of impulse current includes many odd harmonics, which although they do not contribute to the power provided to the load, they contribute to increasing the rms current absorbed by the power line and therefore to increasing the energy dissipation.
In quantitative terms, this may all be expressed both in terms of Power Factor (PF), intended as ratio of the real power (the one the power supply sends to the load plus the one dissipated therein in the form of heat) to the apparent power (the product of the rms voltage by the rms current absorbed), and in terms of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), generally intended as percentage ratio of the energy associated with all larger harmonics to the one associated with the fundamental harmonic. Typically, a power supply with capacitance filter has a PF between 0.4 and 0.6 and a THD higher than 100%.
A PFC arranged between the rectifier bridge and the input of the DC-DC converter allows a current quasi sinusoidal and phased with the voltage, to be absorbed from the network, thus making the PF close to 1 and decreasing the THD.
FIG. 1 schematically shows a PFC pre-regulator stage comprising a boost converter 20 and a control device 1. The PWM control device has a variable frequency, also called "Transition Mode" (TM) as the device works on the borderline between the continuous (CCM) and discontinuous (DCM) modes of conducting current through the inductor; in particular, device 1 is of the constant Ton type. According to this method, the turn-on period of the power transistor is used as a control variable and, during each cycle of the supply voltage, it is kept constant at the value required to obtain the regulation of the voltage output from the converter 20 by means of a feedback control loop. The boost converter 20 comprises a full-wave diode rectifier bridge 2 having an input supply voltage Vac, a capacitor C1 (which serves as a high frequency filter) having a terminal connected to the diode bridge 2 and another terminal connected to ground GND and on which a voltage Vin exists, an inductance L connected to a terminal of the capacitor C1, a MOS power transistor M having its drain terminal connected to a terminal of the inductance L downstream of the latter and having its source terminal connected to ground GND, a diode D having its anode connected to the common terminal of the inductance L and the transistor M, and its cathode connected to a capacitor Co having another terminal connected to ground GND. The boost converter 20 generates an output direct voltage Vout across the capacitor Co which is higher than the maximum peak supply voltage, typically 400 V for systems powered by means of European power line or universal power line. Such a voltage Vout will be the input voltage of the DC-DC converter connected to the PFC.
The control device 1 should keep the output direct voltage Vout at a constant value by means of a feedback control action. The control device 1 comprises an operational error amplifier 3 adapted to compare part of the output voltage Vout, i.e., the voltage Vr given by Vr=R2×Vout/(R2+R1) (where the resistances R1 and R2 are connected in series to each other and the series is in parallel to the capacitor Co) with a reference voltage Vref, e.g., of the value of 2.5 V, and generates an output error signal Se across a capacitor Ce connected between the output of amplifier 3 and ground GND.
The error signal Se is sent to the inverting input of a comparator PWM 5 while the signal Srs exists at the non-inverting input; the signal Srs is a voltage ramp across a capacitor Cc powered by a current generator Ic in the time periods whenever the switch T1 is open, which coincide with those when M is on as precisely the duration Ton of the turn-on of M is to be controlled. If signals Srs and Se are equal, the comparator 5 sends a signal to a control block 6 adapted to control the transistor M and which, in this case, turns it off. Block 6 comprises a zero current detecting block 7 having at the input the signal Saux deriving from the inductor Laux coupled with the inductor L; the signal Saux is representative of the demagnetization of the core of the transformer formed by the inductances L and Laux. Block 7 is capable of sending an impulse signal to a OR gate 8, the other input of which is connected to a starter 10 adapted to send a signal to the OR gate 8 at the initial instant of time. The output signal S of the OR gate 8 is the set input S of a set-reset flip-flop 11 having another input R which is the signal at the output from the comparator 5, and having an output signal Q and an output signal Q* which is the negated signal Q. The signal Q is sent to the input of a driver 12 which controls the turn-on or turn-off of the transistor M and therefore the duration of the turn-on time period Ton and the turn-off time period Toff in each switching cycle Tsw while the signal Q* controls the closing and opening of switch T1.
FIG. 2 shows the time diagrams of some signals involved in the circuit in FIG. 1, i.e., the voltage between the gate and source terminals of transistor M Vgs, the voltage between the drain and source terminals of transistor M Vds and the current in inductor IL.
In TM operation, operation is never exactly done at the borderline between DCM and CCM but slightly in DCM. In fact, the transistor M is not turned or conveniently when the current of the inductor is zeroed, as the voltage Vds in that moment is still equal to the output voltage Vout (typically 400 V). Therefore, the parasitic capacitance Cd associated with the drain terminal in that moment has energy equal to ½·Cd·Vout2 which would be dissipated in the resistance RDS(on) of transistor M when it is turned on. If instead the turn-on is delayed until the oscillation of voltage Vds resulting from zeroing the current IL of the inductor reaches its minimum, equal to 2Vin−Vout, the power stored in the parasitic capacitance Cd and dissipated in the transistor M at the turning-on would be considerably reduced.
Moreover, if 2Vin−Vout<0 (i.e., Vin<Vout/2), where the body diode of transistor M substantially cuts the oscillation to zero, these energy losses would be zeroed resulting in the so-called "soft-switching". In part due to their operation and in part due to the introduction of intentional delays, zero current detection circuits or ZCD inside the controllers PFC, such as that shown in FIG. 1, allow the transistor M to be turned on at the drain oscillation valley ("valley switching"); this delay is indicated by Td, which is equal to half the period of said oscillation. This slightly moves the operation in DCM, but the remarks made on the pure TM are still valid, at least until Td is negligible with respect to the switching period, which typically occurs in a fairly large field of operating conditions of the converter if values Vin>>0 are considered, which are the significant ones in terms of the power transfer.
During the oscillation of voltage Vds, the current IL of inductor L becomes negative by passing through the parasitic capacitance of transistor M and, also possibly the body of transistor M if the voltage Vds reaches zero and, thus, directly biases it.
In this latter case, shown in the left-hand time diagrams, the voltage Vds reaches zero after a time Td1<Td. Until that moment, the current IL of the inductor is sinusoidal, but from that moment on, due to the turning on of the body diode which sets a voltage substantially equal to Vin at its terminals, it starts linearly increasing and at the instant Td is still negative. At this point, the transistor M (the voltage Vgs is forced high) is turned on and the direct current ramp starts. The current becomes positive at the instant Td2>Td. Therefore, there is a time interval in which transistor M is turned on, but the current IL of the inductor is negative. It should be noted that, if the input voltage is such that the peak voltage Vpk is Vpk<Vout/2 (which occurs with the American or Japanese power line, for example), this time interval exists in the entire power line cycle. The ratio of the duration of this interval to that of the switching cycle becomes increasingly greater as the voltage Vin decreases, thus reaching the maximum at the zeroes of the supply voltage (Vin=0). In addition to this, as the current peak tends to zero when Vin tends to zero, the negative peak of the inductor current may even become higher than the positive peak around the zeros of the supply voltage.
If 2Vin−Vout>0 (i.e., Vin>Vout/2), the oscillation valley of the voltage Vds remains at a positive value and the body diode is not turned on. Therefore, the negative portion of the current of the inductor is entirely a sinusoidal arch and the current is zero at the instant Td when transistor M is turned on (i.e., Td2=Td). Therefore, the time interval when the current is negative with the transistor M turned on is absent, but the negative peak of the inductor current (in this case of lower amplitude because the oscillation of voltage Vds is of lower amplitude) may be comparable to the positive peak around the zeroes of the supply voltage.
The current IL of the inductor linearly rises with a slope of
            ⅆ              I        L                    ⅆ      t        =      Vin    L  in each turn-on cycle of transistor.
Since the input voltage is sinusoidal, Vin=Vpk sin θ where θ is the phase angle of the supply voltage, therefore:
                    ⅆ                  I          L                            ⅆ        t                        (      θ      )        =            Vpk      L            sin                                θ      .      Considering the initial value IL0 of the inductor current when transistor M is turned on, the peak value of the current of the inductor will be:
                    I        Lpk                          (        θ        )              =                  I                  L                                                              0                    +                        Vpk          L                                  Ton          ·          sin                                                          θ              ,
IL0=0 if Vin>Vout/2 while, by neglecting the variation of current in the interval between Td/2 and Td1, if Vin<Vout/2, IL0 may be assumed to be equal to the negative peak ILvy (which occurs at the instant Td/2), which is equal to:
                    I                  L                                                              0                    ≈              I        Lvy              =                            Vin          -          Vout                Zd            =                                    Vpk                                                                          sin                                                                          θ                    -          Vout                Zd              ,
where Zd is the characteristic impedance of the resonant circuit consisting of the inductor and the parasitic capacitance on the drain terminal. Therefore, considering the preceding equations:
            I      Lpk                  (      θ      )        =      {                                                      -                              Vout                Zd                                      +                          Vpk                                                                                sin                                                                                θ                                                  (                                                            1                      Zd                                        +                                                                  1                        L                                                                  Ton                                                        )                                                                                Vpk                                                                                sin                                                                                θ                        <                          Vout                                            /                                          2                                                                                Vpk              L                                                  Ton              ·              sin                                                                                θ                                                              Vpk                                                                                sin                                                                                θ                        ≥                          Vout                                            /                                          2
Therefore with a constant period Ton, there is only a sinusoidal envelope of the peak current for instantaneous values of the supply voltage which are higher than Vout/2. There is a reduction of the peak value ILpk(θ) for values less than Vout/2 and, accordingly, a distortion of the envelope due to the constant term −Vout/Zd, which reduction is as great as said instantaneous voltage is low. It is obvious that said distortion results in the distortion of the mains current and therefore in a greater THD and a lower PF.
Furthermore, the reduction of the peak current has a further deleterious action on the THD: the increase of crossover distortion, seen as a brief flat zone in the waveform of the input current close to the zeroes of the supply voltage.
This distortion growing as the load of the PFC decreases and as the rms supply voltage increases, derives from the input-output energy transfer defect which occurs close to the zeros of the supply voltage. In that zone, the energy stored in the inductor—linked to the peak value of the current—is very low, insufficient to charge the parasitic capacitance Cd until reaching the voltage Vout (typically 400 V) so as to turn on the diode D and transfer the power of the inductor to the output. Therefore, the diode is not turned on over a certain number of switching cycles and the energy is partially returned to the filter capacitor arranged downstream the rectifier bridge. This is not discharged and keeps the bridge in inverse bias, by deleting the input current and performing a dead zone in the waveform of the line current.
The fact that the peak current for a given Ton is lower than the one expected in the region wherein Vin<Vout/2, results that the power transported around the zeroes of the supply voltage is further reduced with respect to the case of sinusoidal envelope. Thereby, the number of switching cycles is increased, in which there is no power transfer towards the output and, therefore, the dead zone of the current absorbed by the network widens, with the consequential increase of THD and further reduction of PF.
However the capacitor C1 of the boost converter in FIG. 1 absorbs a current given by:
      Ic                          1    =      C                                ⅆ          Vin                          ⅆ          t                    .      Said current is a further distortion element; said current, added to the current absorbed by the converter, results in a greater distortion of the current absorbed by the power line.

Control device of a switching power supply


A flywheel-type power storage device comprises a coreless synchronous and outer rotor-type motor and a flywheel. The motor comprises a stator provided with a stator winding having a cylindrical portion, and a rotor having inner and outer field members constituting therebetween a field gap in which the cylindrical portion is positioned. At least one of the inner and outer field members comprises a permanent magnet. A bearing is provided between the stator and the rotor so as to rotatably support the rotor against said stator. The stator is separated into a bearing portion constituting the bearing and a stator body provided with the stator winding. The bearing portion is supported via an elastic member by the stator body. The flywheel is fixed on the outer side of the outer field member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a flywheel-type power storage device which stores electrical energy by converting the electrical energy to flywheel rotation energy. This device is useful for backing up the important power sources provided for emergencies and is also useful in combination with power generation by sunlight, wind force, wave force or the like to level the output electric power thereof.
2. Prior Art
There has heretofore been known an electrical energy storage device provided with a rotary electrical machine (or motor/generator) and a flywheel fixed to the rotor of the machine. The rotary electrical machine which has been used in the conventional flywheel-type power storage device, however, is not suitable for use for power storage due to its energy loss.
For example, Takahashi et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,060) disclose a flywheel type energy storage device comprising an induction motor and a flywheel. It is well known to one skilled in the art that the power loss of an induction motor is larger than a dc or synchronous motor having a similar dimension thereto. More specifically, in Takahashi's device, inductive loss (or iron loss) incurs in the rotor upon accumulation (or charge) and release (or discharge) of electric power although it does not incur because of the absence of excitation upon racing of the motor after accumulating the electric power. Since a high efficiency flywheel is placed in a vacuum or in vacuo to prevent the flywheel from causing its energy loss due to friction between it and the air, the motor assembled in one body with the flywheel is also placed in the vacuum and it is very difficult to sink or remove heat generated in the rotor. Accordingly, it is difficult to make such a device with a large capacity and, therefore, such a device is limitedly used for a relatively small capacity one such as UPS.
Hall et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,554) disclose a low profile ring-shaped motor comprising a stator having a winding with a core and a rotor having inner and outer field members constituting therebetween a field gap in which the winding wound on the core is positioned. One of the motor disclosed by Hall et al. is a dc/synchronous one whose field members comprise permanent magnets. It is considered to use a dc/synchronous motor disclosed by Hall et al. instead of the induction motor of the flywheel type energy storage apparatus disclosed by Takahashi et al. in order to reduce the motor loss. Then, there is raised a problem as to bearings being great in power loss.
In such a device which uses a motor, a ball-and-roller bearing and a magnetic bearing are used as a bearing to bear the rotation axis of the rotor. Such a device in which a magnetic bearing is used, is disclosed in, for example, "27th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference '92, Design and Manufacturing for a Composite Multi-Ring Flywheel" and French Patent No. 4,731,554 (Pierre).
The above bearings and the like will not be suitable for high-speed rotation as far as the conventional synchronous motor provided with winding having a core and a field member comprising a permanent magnet is used. More particularly, the deviation of rotation axis of the rotor causes unbalance of magnetic attraction exerted on the core of the winding of the rotor whereby the deviation of the rotor is further expanded, this being a vicious cycle. It thus becomes necessary to rigidly support the rotor very securely in order to prevent the rotor from being deviated thereby to suppress said vicious cycle, but this necessity is very technically difficult to realize, will cause the device to be complicated in structure and will incur a great power loss. Accordingly, the motor having the core therein comes to have a low limit on the rotation velocity allowable for such a motor whereby the motor is unsuitable for efficient storage of electrical power.
In addition, a dc/synchronous motor with core is unsuitable for a power storage device because it has a demerit that it generates iron loss even when it races after accumulation of power and continuously spends the accumulated or stored power, that is, it is low in power storing efficiency.
The magnetic bearing disclosed by Pierre (French Patent No. 4,731,554) achieves an electric servo control with intent to suppress said vicious cycle and, therefore, there will incur a great power loss caused by an electrical power for the servo control. Pierre further discloses a structure of coreless and brushless-type dc/synchronous motor using an inverter to generate a rotating magnetic field and employing a method wherein non-magnetic members are arranged between multipolar magnets to avoid generation of torque in the reverse direction to rotation direction, which will be generated in a conventional brushless-type motor. In Pierre's motor, however, since electro-magnetic power is not generated in wires near the non-magnetic members, the normal torque is reduced as far as the reverse torque is reduced.


A mobile phone is provided with a broadband AM and/or FM radio signal receiver. The mobile phone further has a radio channel memory for storing a plurality of radio channel settings. The mobile telephone further receives messages, such as SMS messages, and a storage for storing a radio channel setting contained in a received message in the radio channel memory. A method of updating radio channel settings of a mobile phone having a broadband AM and/or FM radio receiver is provided. The mobile phone receives messages. The message contains a radio channel setting. The radio channel setting may be stored in the mobile phone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of updating radio channel settings of a mobile phone, in particular methods of sending messages such as the Global System for Mobile communications System Short Message Service. Further, the invention relates to mobile phones, in particular to mobile phones capable of sending and receiving text messages and having a broadband radio receiver.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mobile phones that can also exchange information using protocols such as the Short Message Service (SMS) part of the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) digital standard are well known in the art. Conventional SMS messages may be plain text messages or messages containing a particular type of information such as ringing tones, picture messages, WAP settings and business cards (Vcard). Recently, mobile phones with broadband radio receivers such as the Nokia® 8310 and 6510 have come on the market. The receiver is controlled through a user interface comprising a display and a keypad. The radio functions of the phone can thus be controlled without any keys being solely dedicated only to the radio functions. A number of radio stations can be stored and recalled. By nature, mobile phones are used in changing locations. It is therefore not unlikely that the radio channel settings stored in the phone are no longer useful because the signal the stored channels is too weak to be received in a changed location of the mobile phone.

Mobile phone and method of updating radio channel settings


Provided is a measuring method including: transferring a measuring mark disposed on an original to a substrate at a plurality of locations; moving a substrate stage for holding the substrate so that the substrate is rotated by 90 degrees about a rotation axis parallel to an optical axis of a projection optical system; then transferring the measuring mark to the substrate at a plurality of locations so that the measuring mark overlaps the transfer region; measuring positional deviations among the transferred measuring marks and a first overlap mark in a region where the transfer regions overlap each other; and calculating at least one of a positional error of a shot on the substrate, a rotational error of the same, and an orthogonality in shot arrangement based on a result of the measurement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a measuring method, an adjustment method for stage movement characteristics, an exposure method, and a device manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a device such as a semiconductor device is manufactured, multilayered circuit patterns are overlaid and transferred on a substrate. In this case, if different exposure apparatuses are used because different accuracies are required for the individual layers, overlap accuracy (matching accuracy) among the different exposure apparatuses is required.
Therefore, arrangement accuracy of a shot on the substrate when each exposure apparatus is used for the exposure is brought close to an ideal position, and hence the overlap accuracy among the different exposure apparatuses can be improved.
For this reason, a method of evaluating the arrangement accuracy of the shot is necessary. In a scanning exposure apparatus, for example, the arrangement accuracy of the shot is evaluated as described below.
As illustrated in FIG. 15, the transfer process is performed so that each of slit-like shots i is superimposed partially with other four shots j, k, l, and m.
In the superimposed region, as illustrated in FIG. 16, overlap marks 1 and 2 are formed by the shots i and j while overlap marks 3 and 4 are formed by the shots i and k.
Further, overlap marks 5 and 6 are formed by the shots i and l while overlap marks 7 and 8 are formed by the shots i and m.
Therefore, positional errors εx and εy and a rotational error εθ of each of the shots i, j, k, l, and m are calculated by using a least-square method from data obtained by measuring relative positions of the overlap marks 1 to 8 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-064268).
However, the method described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-064268 requires that sizes of the shots i, j, k, l, and m should be within the size of the slit. Therefore, the number of shots arranged in parallel to a short side direction of the shots i, j, k, l, and m increases, and hence it takes long time to perform the exposure and mark measurement.

Measuring method, adjustment method for stage movement characteristics, exposure method, and device manufacturing method


The present invention relates to novel photosensitive quinolone compounds, specifically novel 3-diazo 2,4-quinolinedione compounds, that may be used in a variety of applications, such as, photosensitive coating compositions, pharmaceuticals, agricultural, amongst others. The invention further relates to a process for making the novel photosensitive 3-diazo 2,4-quinolinedione compounds. These compounds are particularity useful as a photoactive component in a positive working photoresist composition, particularity for use as a deep ultraviolet (UV) photoresist.

Photosensitive compositions are currently used in microlithography to form integrated circuits. These photosensitive compositions typically comprise a photoactive compound, a resin and a solvent. A coating of the photosensitive composition is formed on a substrate, the coating is imagewise exposed and developed to form an image in the coating. As the requirement for faster integrated circuits grows, so does the need to reduce the dimensions of the features printed on these circuits. One method of producing small features is to imagewise irradiate the photoresist with light of shorter wavelengths. The traditional photosensitive compositions which contained novolaks as resins and diazonaphthoquinones as photosensitive compounds worked well at wavelengths between 350 nm and 450 nm. However, with light of wavelengths less than 350 nm, and especially less than 250 nm, neither do the typical novolacs have sufficient transparency, nor do the diazonaphthoquinones have the necessary absorption characteristics to allow for photoresist images of adequate resolution and edge acuity to be formed. Therefore, it has become necessary to synthesize new resins and new photoactive compounds for use at shorter wavelengths.
Diazonaphthoquinone photoactive compounds used for irradiation wavelengths between 350 nm and 450 nm are known and described in the following patents, U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,670, U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,315, U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,936, U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,107 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,033, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Radiation-sensitive mixtures containing photoactive diazo derivatives which are suitable for irradiation with high-energy deep UV radiation have been described in the literature for some time.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,522 discloses positive-working radiation-sensitive mixtures which contain, as a photoactive compound, a diazo derivative of Meldrum's acid. This compound is said to be suitable for exposure to high-energy UV radiation in the range between 200 nm and 300 nm. However, this photoactive compound is lost under the elevated processing temperatures frequently employed in practice; the radiation-sensitive mixture loses its original activity, so that reproducible photoresist images are not obtained.
Further, positive-working photoactive compounds which are sensitive in the deep UV region are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,885. The compounds have the disadvantage that the carbenes formed from these on exposure do not have adequate stability in the matrix for the desired formulation of carboxylic acid. This results in an inadequate solubility difference between the exposed and the unexposed areas in the developer and thus leads to an undesirably high removal rate of the unexposed areas, leading to poor resolution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,283 provide 2-diazocyclohexane- 1,3-dione or -cyclopentane-1,3-dione derivatives as photoactive compounds for radiation-sensitive mixtures of the type described. These compounds have lower volatility, but they exhibit, depending on the substitution pattern present, poor compatibility in the radiation-sensitive mixture. This can cause recrystallization in the solution or in the coating.
EP-A 0 195 986 proposes phosphoryl-substituted diazocarbonyl compounds as photoactive compounds, since these have a higher carbene stability. In practice, however, such compounds will probably not be widely accepted since phosphorus atoms are potentially used as dopants for the semiconductor substrates.
Photoactive compounds based on 3,diazo 4,oxo coumarin structure and sensitive in the shorter wavelengths are disclosed in JP 2,061,640. Additionally, JP 3,079,670, describes a photoresist based on a similar coumarin structure, and further includes 2-diazo 1-indanone and 3-diazo 2,4-quinolinedione as photosensitive compounds, wherein the photoresist when processed gives a negative image. These are monomeric diazo compounds that have substituents of low molecular weight, such as methyl, chlorine, methoxy, propyl, that can be susceptible to volatility, diffusion through the photoresist film, amongst other factors. Furthermore, the 3-diazo 2,4-quinolinedione described in JP 3,079,670 discloses as substituents only sulfonic acid, sulfonylhalogeno, alkoxy, hydrogen or halo groups and when processed in a photoresist composition gives negative images.
All of the references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention describes a novel photoactive 3-diazo 2,4-quinolinedione compounds, where one of the benzyl substituents is a carbon containing organic ballast moeity that has a molecular weight greater than 75, and can provide solubility and stability to the novel photoactive compound in a photosensitive composition and its coating during lithographic processing. The invention further discloses a process for the preparation of the novel 3-diazo 2,4-quinolinedione compounds.

Photosensitive quinolone compounds and a process of preparation


An electric kettle system designed for particular use onboard passenger transportation vehicles. In many instances, hot beverages are brewed using a separate beverage maker system, but it may be desirable to maintain the warmth/heat of a kettle containing the hot beverage that is separate from the beverage maker system. The electric kettle system described provides a base and a carafe with a locking connection therebetween. The system incorporates a heater plate within the carafe, and the heater plate is activated when the carafe is positioned on the base.

Passenger travel has become more sophisticated in recent years. For example, airlines compete for customers, and customers have more choice when it comes to seating options, entertainment options, and beverage and meal options. Beverage and meal options in business class or first class seating can often include gourmet meals, accompanied by espresso, cappuccino, or other high-end coffee beverages. Additionally or alternatively, business aircraft also incorporate enhanced beverage and meal options. In many instances, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and other hot beverages are desirably served at particular optimal temperatures. However, it may also be the case that the beverages are served or re-filled at locations that are distant from the aircraft galley in which the beverage is prepared. Accordingly, the present disclosure relates to an electric kettle system. The electric kettle system maintains the warmth/heat of a kettle containing a hot beverage that is separate from the beverage maker system.


The present invention is directed to a hose holder that nests individual hose loops separately in grooves formed on (or forming) a sloped surface. The holder includes a series of arched grooves, each groove provided at a different position along the slope of the surface such that adjacent grooves are at different vertical heights when the holder is mounted for use. Grooves further from the mounting point are lower than those nearer. In general, each groove is wide enough to hold and guide a single loop of hose and is configured for easy deployment of the hose when the hose is pulled away from the hose holder.

The invention is generally directed to a hose holder that arranges the hose in loops positioned in separate grooves positioned at different heights.
Currently, there are a number of solutions for storing and removing hoses. Some of these solutions attempt to serve as hose organizers, but these solutions fail to meet the needs of the industry because the loops are not organized in a first-length-to-use pattern or a last-length-to-use pattern. Other solutions attempt to compress the loops into a tightly wound hose pots, but these solutions are similarly unable to meet the needs of the industry because it is an unusually laborious process to insert the hose into a pot or bucket and to compress it into numerous tight loops. This may lead to kinking the hose and an unordered looping of the hose; thus, preventing extraction of the hose in a correct untangled order. Other solutions seek to provide hose storage but fail in placing the loops in an order that is positioned for the next use of the hose. Some solutions also fail to meet industry needs because they fail to establish a pattern for vertical storage that can be visually understood and taught to others. Instead, all the hose loops are stacked on top of each other and the loops get tangled, which leads to uncertainty regarding the order of the loops on the holder.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A foldable bicycle frame includes top and bottom connecting bars respectively pivotally connected between front and rear top tubes of the bicycle, a plurality of springs supported between the top and bottom connecting bars for pushing the top and bottom connecting bars vertically away from each other for allowing the front top tube and the rear top tube to be turned relative to each other between an operative position and a non-operative position, and a locking mechanism controlled by a locking lever to lock the top connecting bar and the bottom connecting bar in a position where the front top tube and the rear top tube aren't movable relative to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bicycle frame and more particularly, to a foldable bicycle frame that can conveniently be carried by the user when it is set in the folded non-operative position.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 13 shows a foldable bicycle frame according to the prior art. According to this design, the foldable bicycle frame 70 comprises a top tube 71, a folding structure 80 coupled between the two parts of the top tube 71, a head tube 72 at one end of the top tube 71, a seat tube 73 at the rear end of the top tube 71, seat stays 74 obliquely backwardly extended from the seat tube 73, and chain stays 75 connected to the seat stays 74. Further, the head tube 72 holds a front fork with a handlebar at the top and a front wheel the bottom (not shown). The seat tube 73 supports a seat pillar with a saddle (not shown). Further, a rear wheel (not shown) is pivotally provided at the connection area between the seat stays 74 and the chain stays 75.
The folding structure 80 comprises a base frame 81 and a movable frame 82 respectively affixed to the two parts of the top tube and hinged together, and a quick-release lock 83 adapted to lock the movable frame 82 to the base frame 81. When the quick-release lock 83 is locked, the movable frame 82 is locked to the base frame 81, and the top tube 71 is held in the operative position (see FIG. 13). On the contrary, when unlocked the quick-release lock 83, the movable frame 82 can be turned relative to the base frame 81 to let the foldable bicycle frame 70 be set in the folded non-operative position (see FIG. 14).
The design of foldable bicycle frame 70 can easily be set between the folded non-operative position and the extended operative position. However, when the foldable bicycle frame 70 is folded up, the folded top tube 71 is not locked in the folded position and tends to be vibrated by an external force accidentally. Vibrating the received foldable bicycle frame 70 may cause the folding structure 80 to break. Further, when the foldable bicycle frame 70 is folded up, the two parts of the folded top tube 71 is not kept in parallel, i.e., a big contained angle is defined between the two parts of the folded top tube 71 and the front wheel and rear wheel of the folded bicycle frame 70 are not kept in parallel, resulting in a carrying inconvenience. When the user pulls the folded bicycle frame 70 on the ground, the folded bicycle frame 70 cannot be moved steadily and will fall to the ground. Further, this structure of foldable bicycle frame 70 still occupies much storage space when folded up.


Point to multipoint wireless communication, including automatic retransmission and error recovery for packet oriented point to multipoint communication, which integrates adaptive and dynamic responsiveness for parameters for automatic retransmission using wireless communication. A wireless communication link is divided into a downstream portion and an upstream portion. Parameters are selected for automatic retransmission independently for the downstream portion and the upstream portion of the wireless communication link. A BSC controls the selection of parameters for automatic retransmission for all CPE within a cell. As part of a TDD frame, in which the BSC and the CPE share communication bandwidth using a TDMA technique, the BSC includes its selection of parameters for automatic retransmission to be used by CPE within a control section of the TDD frame. The BSC dynamically and adaptively determines new selected parameters for automatic retransmission, in response to conditions of a wireless communication link with each independent CPE. The BSC dynamically and adaptively allocates acknowledgement time slots within the upstream portion of the TDD frame, for use by each selected CPE. The BSC allocates some portion of the upstream bandwidth as a shared resource and some portion of the upstream bandwidth as unshared when there are messages received but not yet acknowledged. The BSC dynamically and adaptively response to acknowledgement and non-acknowledgement messages from each selected CPE, to integrate the automatic retransmission protocol with the TDD frame and the TDMA technique used within that frame.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless communication systems, such as those including automatic retransmission and error recovery for packet oriented point-to-multipoint communication.
2. Related Art
In communication systems, messages from a sender to a receiver using a communication link are sometimes subject to sending errors, such as bit errors, unreasonable sending delay, unintended reordering, and unintended duplication of messages. For example, noise on the communication link can cause bits within messages to be incorrect, generally causing the receiver to be unable to use the message. In a wireless communication system, these problems are exacerbated by a variety of circumstances that are specific to wireless communication. For example, co-channel interference (CCI), multipath and multipoint effects, such as refraction or reflection resulting in intrasymbol interference and intersymbol interference, are often prevalent with wireless communication, and can substantially reduce the reliability of wireless communication links.
One known method in digital communication systems is to implement an automatic retransmission protocol between sender and receiver, so that the receiver acknowledges messages from the sender, and the sender re-transmits those messages not acknowledged by the receiver within a reasonable time. Known automatic retransmission protocols include several parameters, which must generally be selected in response to characteristics of the communication link, to optimize communication throughput between the sender and receiver.
One problem with application of this known method to wireless communication systems is that there are multiple physical characteristics of the wireless communication link, each which is specific to a particular combination of sender and receiver, and each of which can change substantially over relatively short time durations. These multiple physical characteristics can include characteristics of the sender's equipment or of the receiver's equipment, characteristics of objects on or near communication pathways between the sender and the receiver, and characteristics of other communications overlapping communication between the sender and the receiver. For example, the wireless communication environment can include substantial changes in wireless communication link characteristics in the time duration between sending a message and sending an appropriate acknowledgement for that message. This is particularly so for characteristics related to errors in sending information using wireless communication links, including interference such as CCI, and multipath and multipoint effects. Moreover, multiple ones of these physical characteristics can change independently of one another, and can have substantial and relatively unpredictable effects on one another.
Accordingly, selection of a single set of parameters with which to optimize automatic retransmission using a wireless communication link is virtually always suboptimal for communication among multiple senders and multiple receivers. Moreover, selection of parameters with which to optimize automatic retransmission can be subject to substantial data collection and computation; this task is not easily distributed among multiple senders and multiple receivers. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a technique for automatic retransmission and error recovery for packet oriented point to multipoint communication, that is not subject to drawbacks of the known art. Preferably, in such a technique, automatic retransmission and error recovery characteristics are responsive to changes in the characteristics of the communication link between sender and receiver.

Automatic retransmission and error recovery for packet oriented point-to-multipoint communication


A cruising lane recognition device is mounted on a vehicle. The device includes a camera, a storing unit, and a processor. The camera captures an image of an area including the road ahead of the vehicle. The processor is configured to detect luminances within the images, recognize a cruising lane-marker of the road in the images on the basis of the luminances which are detected, a store, in the storing unit, a position of the cruising lane-marker that is recognized, detect that the vehicle is in a tunnel, and set a virtual cruising lane-marker on the basis of an archival record of the position of a cruising lane-marker which has been stored in the storing unit when the cruising lane-marker cannot be recognized and the vehicle has been detected to exist in a tunnel.

Conventionally, a cruising lane recognition device is known that captures an image of an area including the road ahead of a vehicle, and recognizes a cruising lane marker (such as a white lane marker) on the road based on the changes in luminances within the image (see Patent Document 1). The cruising lane recognition device can, for example, be used in an on-board system that issues a warning that the vehicle will deviate from the cruising lane. In other words, the cruising lane recognized by the cruising lane recognition device and a cruising trajectory of the vehicle predicted based on a yaw sensor or a speed sensor can be analyzed, and the risk of cruising lane deviation can be judged.