A time-temperature indicator (TTI) uses polymer hardening properties to “set” or retain indications of temperature history. The TTI includes a mesh layer affixed to a thermo-conductive adhesive layer and a photonic crystal patterned film affixed to the mesh layer. The photonic crystal shows a property of bandgap shift vs temperature and responds to a predetermined range of temperatures to provide a visible indication of the range of temperatures. A hardener pouch is affixed to one end of the mesh layer and releases hardener in response to an initiating event, so that the photonic crystal material responds to the hardener by presenting a fixed state.

Field
The present disclosure relates to time-temperature indicators (TTI), and to time-temperature indicators displaying an indication of temperature records over time.
Background
The following show some of the TTI available either in the commercial market or being described in literature. The operational principles of various TTI products are briefly described:
Diffusion-Based TTI
A diffusion-based TTI relies on diffusion of reactive components, in which the diffusion is time and temperature dependent. An example of a diffusion-based TTI is Monitor Mark® TTI, commercialized by the 3 M Company, based on the temperature-dependent diffusion reaction of a colored fatty acid ester along a porous wick made of high-quality blotting paper. Its measurable response is the distance of the advancing diffusion front from the origin (Kerry et al., 2006).
Red-ox Dye
Hu and Loconti (1973) and Gohil (2006) have reported a receptacle that contained a metered amount of oxidized red-ox dye and an effective amount of reducing agent in an alkaline medium, solvent or moisture retainer. The conversion of the oxidized red-ox dye into its reduced form occurs inside the sealed receptacle. The color change can also come from the oxygen diffusing through the barrier film and react with the reduced dye.
Lewis (2002) developed a time indicator that consists of a tissue paper saturated with reduced dye and covered with a plastic cap. The oxygen diffuses through the plastic cap that leads to a color change from the oxidation of the dye. The plastic cap is thick in the center and gradually thins outward toward the edge. This construction provides a gradual color transition from the edge to the center with the elapse of time.
Color Change as a Result of Solid State Polymerization of Substituted Monomers
Polymer-based systems such as the Fresh Check® TTI produced by the company TempTime, are based on the solid state polymerization of a thinly coated colorless acetylenic monomer that changes to a highly colored opaque polymer at a temperature-dependent rate (Nuin et al., 2008).
Based on Time-Temperature Dependence of Enzymatic Reaction (Vitsab®) Leak & Rönnow, 2000
Enzymatic systems such as the VITSAB Check Point® TTI are based on a color change in the TTI induced by a pH drop resulting from the controlled enzymatic hydrolysis of a lipid substrate which changes the color of the chromatic indicator from green over yellow to orange red (Kerry et al., 2006; Tsironi et al., 2008).
A plastic outer compartment contains two mini-pouches; one contains a water solution of lipolytic enzyme, and the other is lipid substrate water solution containing a pH indicator. The TTI is activated by breaking the wall between two mini-pouches and the contents are mixed by outside force. A color change from green to clear yellow is due to the controlled enzymatic hydrolysis of a lipid substrate with a decrease in pH.
Alternative enzymatic systems have been described. Sun et al. (2008) developed a new amylase type TTI based on the reaction between amylase and starch. Bauer and Knorr (2005) reported a pressure induced starch gelation as a pressure time temperature indicator (PTTI).
Solid State Reaction Systems
Solid state reaction systems represented by the OnVu™ TTI produced by the Ciba company are based on photosensitive compounds such as benzylpyridines. Once exposed to a low wavelength light, they become colored and this colored state reverses to the initial colorless state according to temperature (Tsironi et al., 2008). The OnVuÒ (2006) time-temperature indicator from Ciba Specialty Chemicals and Fresh Point relies on the properties of pigments that change color over time and temperature. The OnVuÒ is activated by UV light to first become dark blue and then gradually changes to light color as time passes.
Microbiological TTIs
Microbiological TTIs are proposed by the French company CRYOLOG. TRACEO® and (eO)® are microbiological TTIs made of selected strains of lactic acid bacteria. Prior to utilization, these TTIs are stored in a frozen state (−18° C.) to prevent bacterial growth in the TTI medium. As these TTIs are very thin, their activation is obtained simply by defrosting them for a few minutes at the room temperature. The TTIs are put on the food, and in case of temperature abuse or when the product reaches its "use-by" date, the temperature-dependent growth of the TTI microorganisms causes a pH drop in the tags, thereby leading to an irreversible color change of the medium chromatic indicator which becomes red (Ellouze et al., 2008).

Time temperature indicator by chromatography and photonic lattice changes

NANO AND ADVANCED MATERIALS INSTITUTE LIMITED


The present invention provides for the dynamic video equalization of images. Face tracking is used to identify a portion of an image corresponding to a human face. Those areas of the image identified as corresponding to a human face are optimized as compared to other areas of the image. Optimization is performed by allocating a greater number of image parameters to the area of the image corresponding to a human face than are allocated to other areas of the image. Accordingly, the portion of an image containing the human face is of higher quality as compared to other portions of the image.

The use of video conferencing or telephony, which allows remote parties to both see and hear one another, is becoming increasingly popular. As used herein, "video telephony" refers to communications using both video and audio transmitted over a communications network. Such applications facilitate remote communications by providing a visual image of each conference participant. Accordingly, video conferencing allows parties to communicate audibly and visibly, without requiring lengthy and expensive travel.
In a typical video telephony application, a camera is positioned to obtain an image of each of the participants at each endpoint of the communication. The image of a participant at one endpoint is then provided to a participant at another endpoint, so that each participant is viewing the other during the communication session. The video telecommunications interaction can include two or more endpoints, and each endpoint can include more than one participant.
The image that is transmitted during a video conference is often of inferior quality. A number of factors can contribute to the inferior quality of transmitted images. For example, contrast and color saturation levels may be incorrectly set at the transmitting end. In addition, the amount of data that is used to describe an image is often limited, for example due to transmission bandwidth constraints. Furthermore, these limitations on image quality are often exacerbated by poor lighting conditions.
Video cameras that are capable of supporting backlight compensation are capable of removing peaks in image intensity. Such backlight compensation may operate by equalizing the overall image histogram to remove the peaks in image intensity. Although such techniques can be effective at providing an image having improved quality overall, they do not specifically act to improve the quality of those portions of the image that correspond to the face of an imaged participant. Accordingly, the area of the image corresponding to the face of a participant in a video conference may continue to be of relatively low quality.
In order to allow a camera to provide an image that is centered on the face of a participant, face tracking capabilities are available. In a system that provides automatic face tracking, the camera will be zoomed into a detected face and will attempt to make the face dominate the image, thus reducing the effect of the surrounding environment. Although such systems can be effective at following a participant moving around a scene, image information related to background objects is described using the same image parameters available for those portions of the image comprising the face being tracked. As a result, the portion of the image corresponding to the tracked face can be of lower quality than is desired. In particular, because there is a fixed amount of image detail that can be encoded, and because an equal range of available image parameters is devoted to background information as is devoted to the face of the participant, a portion of the finite image information is consumed describing the relatively unimportant background portions of the image.

Dynamic video equalization of images using face-tracking


A semiconductor memory device may include a switching unit to selectively connect a bitline pair and a pair of input/output lines in response to a column selection line signal; a column selection line voltage generator to generate a column selection line voltage; and a column selection line driver to provide the column selection line signal based at least in at the column selection line voltage level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates bitline bouncing on a semiconductor memory device.
According to FIG. 1, the semiconductor memory device reads data by the following method: a row address is entered into a circuit and data of a memory cell corresponding to the row address is amplified by a bitline sense amplifier. Then, a bitline pair (BL, BLB) and an input/output line pair (LIO, LIOB) corresponding to a column address are connected, and an input/output sense amplifier then reads the memory cell data. Here, the bitline pair (BL, BLB) and the input/output line pair (LIO, LIOB) are connected by a switching transistor formed between the bitline pair (BL, BLB) and the input/output line pair (LIO, LIOB), which is enabled, by responding to a column selection line signal provided with the decoded column address.
A current type input/output sense amplifier supplies an electric current, and senses any change in the current amount, and reads the memory cell data. The electric current flows into the bitline pair (BL, BLB) via the switching transistor, and one of the bitline pair with a low level, i.e. the bitline bar (BLB), rises to a reference level by the flowed electric current, as denoted by "a" in FIG. 1. However, the other one of the bitline pair with a high level, i.e. the bitline (BL), drops to a reference level, as denoted by "b" in FIG. 1. This rise and drop is referred to as "bitline bouncing". As illustrated in a′ and b′ in FIG. 1, as the magnitudes of the bitline pair voltages increase, the possibilities of reversing the bitline pair logic levels correspondingly increase. Accordingly, the possibilities of failure increase.
As the semiconductor memory device is highly integrated, a pitch between the bitline pair (BL, BLB) gets closer. As a result, there is not enough space to form the bitline sense amplifier in between the bitline pair (BL, BLB), resulting in a decrease in the number of contacts. In other words, the bouncing voltage rises as the bitline sense amplifier resistance rises.
An internal array source voltage (VINTA) is used in the bitline sense amplifier. As the internal array source voltage (VINTA) level decreases, a potential difference between the bitline pair also decreases when the data stored in a capacitor in the memory cell develops. Therefore, the bitline bouncing may result in higher possibilities of reversing the bitline pair logic levels.


A carriage which completes one course of knitting to the knitting end of a fabric is stopped. Knitting in a next course is performed when the carriage reverses its moving direction and re-starts its movement. Since the knitting yarn is not knitted to the fabric until a carrier brought by the carriage reaches a position of a knitting needle holding the stitch of the fabric at the knitting end, the knitting yarn existing in a feeding path between a yarn feeding mechanism and the carrier is excessively increased and a slack is generated. Since a distance between a yarn feeding port formed at a carrier's frontal end and the knitting needle at the fabric-knitting end is also reduced, the knitting yarn is further increased excessively. The further-excessively-increased knitting yarn is taken in by a yarn feeding means by reversing a servomotor, and further pulled in by a rewinding arm.

Conventionally, in weft knitting machines, a plurality of knitting needles are arranged side by side on needle beds, and a knitting fabric is knitted by feeding knitting yarns while a knitting operation is performed sequentially with the knitting needles. The sequential knitting operation of the knitting needles is performed by knitting cam mechanisms that are mounted on carriages moving along the needle beds. Carriers that are brought by the carriages feed knitting yarns to the knitting needles. The knitting yarns are fed to the carriers from a constant position along the needle beds such as the end portion or the central portion. While a knitting fabric is knitted, the relationship between the position of the carriages that bring the carriers and the position at which knitting yarns are fed continuously changes. Knitting yarns are knitted into the knitting fabric and consumed on the whole. However, when the carrier moves closer to the position at which the knitting yarn is fed, outside the knitting fabric, the feeding path of the knitting yarn to the carrier is shortened, but the knitting yarn of an amount by which the feeding path is shortened is not knitted into the knitting fabric, and thus the tensile force of the knitting yarn is reduced, so that the knitting yarn comes loose.
Generally, after knitting is performed up to an end of a knitting fabric of one course in movement from the position at which a knitting yarn is fed to the carrier to a side away from the position, the carriage continuously moves some distance, and is then halted. In order to knit the knitting fabric for the next one course, the movement direction of the carriage is reversed. When the carriage is reversed, starts to move in the opposite direction, and brings the carrier, the knitting yarn is not consumed until the carriage passes by the end portion of the knitting fabric and resumes the knitting of the knitting fabric. Even, when the distance from the position at which the knitting yarn is fed to the carrier to the carrier decreases and the knitting yarn of an amount by which the distance decreases is not necessary, the knitting yarn of the amount by which the feeding path is shortened cannot be knitted into the knitting fabric, and thus the tensile force of the knitting yarn is reduced, so that the knitting yarn comes loose. When a knitting fabric is knitted, it is required that a fluctuation in the tensile force of a knitting yarn is small. The tensile force of a knitting yarn affects the size of knitting loops of a knitting fabric that is to be knitted, and thus the fluctuation in the tensile force makes the size of knitting loops of the knitting fabric non-uniform.
In manual knitting machines in which the carriage is manually moved, an operation is performed using actuation in tension of a spring material (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 57-191352 (1982), for example). In weft knitting machines of an automated control type in which a knitting fabric is knitted based on knitting data while driving the carriage, other methods also can be applied. A braking device and pulling back means are provided on a feeding path of a knitting yarn, and based on a start signal that is generated before the carriage actually starts to move, the braking device binds a knitting yarn and the pulling back means in which the torque is increased pulls back the knitting yarn. A technique for preventing the tensile force of a knitting yarn from being reduced in this manner by controlling the torque in every reversing movement of the carriage has been proposed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 04-257352 (1992), for example).
It should be noted that when the carriage moves in a direction away from the position at which a knitting yarn is fed to the carrier, the distance to the carrier increases as the carriage moves. Especially when the position at which a knitting yarn is fed to the carrier is provided on an end portion on one side on the needle bed, and the carriage is reversed from that end portion to the end portion on the other side, the demand for the knitting yarn drastically increases. The applicant of the invention has proposed a technique for suppressing a fluctuation in the tensile force of a knitting yarn by predicting the demand for a knitting yarn and by performing PID control on a servomotor for driving rollers by which a knitting yarn is held and sent out (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2002-227064, for example).
Simply by using tension of a spring material as in JP-A 57-191352, it is impossible to sufficiently perform the slack reduction that is necessary in order to knit a knitting fabric of a high quality by suppressing a fluctuation in the tensile force of a knitting yarn in a weft knitting machine in which the productivity is increased by moving the carriage at a high speed. In JP-A 04-257352, it is intended to reduce the slack by controlling the torque. In this case, when the tensile force of a knitting yarn increases because the knitting yarn is hooked at a midpoint on a feeding path, for example, it is impossible to pull in the knitting yarn any more.
When a knitting yarn is held and sent out by rollers as in JP-A 2002-227064, it is possible to cope with the drastic demand for a knitting yarn, but when the knitting yarn comes loose due to the change in the position of the carrier, the slack cannot be absorbed as appropriate. Thus, it is required that a knitting yarn does not come loose even when the demand for the knitting yarn vanishes.

Yarn feeding apparatus of weft knitting machine


An apparatus and method for installing and removing a recessed spark plug to and from an engine without a component thereof becoming disengaged. The spark plug tool is long enough to reach a recessed spark plug and includes a first housing member having an opening fitted with an elastomeric sleeve for receiving a spark plug, a shaft that may be integrally connected to the first housing member, and a second housing member which may be integrally connected to the shaft. The second housing member can be coupled to a torque member.

Standard spark plug sockets having hex sizes, ⅝ inch and 13/16 inch, have been available for many years. These typical sockets are about 2½ inch long and some contain an internal elastomeric material sleeve that fits snugly over the ceramic portion of the spark plug to grip and protect the spark plug. On many modern engines, the spark plug is deeply recessed and difficult to reach unless an extension is used with the socket. In order to install or remove the recessed spark plug, a mechanic will select a properly sized socket that fits the spark plug, add an extension that mates with a wrench. The wrench provides the rotational force necessary to install or remove the spark plug. Occasionally, the frictional force between the elastomeric sleeve and the spark plug is greater than the force of the ball detent on the socket and its extension. If this occurs, the extension will become disengaged from the socket while the mechanic is trying detach the socket from the spark plug. As a result, the socket becomes difficult to reach and therefore, difficult to remove from the engine's recess. The mechanic then has to waste time and effort to reattach the extension with the socket, thereby, costing the consumer more for the repair. Additionally, exposed engine parts may be damaged when the extension becomes disengaged unexpectedly from the socket.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an easy-to-use and simple tool capable of readily installing and removing a deeply recessed spark plug without being susceptible to easy disengagement. In addition, it is desirable to provide a single tool capable of installing and uninstalling spark plugs and thereby, alleviate the need for a multiple tool assembly, which may otherwise be required to reached the deeply recessed spark plug. It is also desirable to provide a method of installing and uninstalling the deeply recessed spark plug that decreases the chance of a component being disengaged unexpectedly.


A bis-phenanthroimidazolyl compound having a following formula is disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bis-phenanthroimidazolyl compound and an electroluminescent device using the same, particularly to a bis-phenanthroimidazolyl compound functioned as a host emitter or charge-transporter in an organic light emitting diode (OLED).
2. Description of the Prior Art
Organic light emitting diode (OLED) has been a great topic of interest for many researchers due to its advantageous application in flat panel displays. The development of stable and highly efficient three primary color (red, green and blue) emitting materials and devices is crucial for OLEDs to become commercial products. One important requirement in the development of organic electroluminescent devices is to develop RGB (red, green, and blue) light emitting devices so as to satisfy the need of a color flat panel display.
The hunt for efficient blue electroluminescence is of particular interest because it is an essential component to realize OLEDs in display as well as lighting applications. Many research groups have successfully prepared efficient blue fluorophores and their OLEDs. However, at the present time, the efficient ones with good Commission Internationale d'Énclairage y coordinate value (CIEy) ≦0.15 are still relatively rare. At the present time, there is a lack of good organic electroluminescence compounds that will satisfy the aforementioned need.
To sum up, it is highly desirable to develop new organic compounds that can be advantageously used in the low power consumption organic electroluminescent devices which can emit luminescence especially in blue color spectrum.

Bis-phenanthroimidazolyl compound and electroluminescent device using the same

Abstract: Where A1 and A2 comprise identical or different aromatic rings, A3 comprises a polyaromatic hydrocarbon or at least two aromatic groups, and each carbon in A1 to A3 and phenanthrol groups is independently substituted or non-substituted. The bis-phenanthroimidazolyl compound exhibits relatively better thermal properties with higher glass-transition temperature and efficient blue emission. The bis-phenanthroimidazolyl compound may function as a host emitter or charge-transporter. An electroluminescent device is also disclosed.


The present invention relates to a novel isolated gene (polynucleotide) which encodes a protein having a biofilm formation inhibitory activity derived from Coryneform bacteria, a L-lysine-producing strain in which the polynucleotide is inactivated, and a method for producing L-lysine using the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel isolated genes which encode a protein having a biofilm formation inhibitory activity, and a method for producing L-lysine by using a bacterial strain in which the gene is inactivated.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bacteria compete with other microorganisms for nutrients while growing under various growth conditions. When the growth conditions for bacteria become unfavorable and threaten theft survival, the bacteria utilize various survival mechanisms including biofilm formation.
Biofilms are assemblages of microorganisms encased within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymers, which functions as a cooperative consortium. Biofilms serve as protection barriers and enable bacteria to survive as communities in biofilms in inhospitable conditions such as antibiotics treatments, host immune responses, and antibacterial agents.
Reportedly, as the mass of bacteria increases, the L-lysine production yield decreases. Thus, there is a problem that L-lysine production yield depends on changes in bacterial mass.
After numerous experiments, the inventors of the present invention have succeeded in identifying a gene related to inhibition of biofilm formation in a L-lysine-producing bacterial strain. They have also found that the growth rate of the strain can be increased by the inactivation of the gene, leading to an increase in the mass of the bacteria. Unexpectedly, they have also found that the yield of L-lysine production does not decrease at all despite the increase in the bacterial mass, thereby completing the present invention.

Genes encoding biofilm formation inhibitory proteins and a method for producing L-lysine using a bacterial strain with the inactivated genes


In an optical frequency stabilizing device for stabilizing optical frequencies of transmission lasers even when optical frequency reference is shut off, an optical shutter 44 is normally held in its open state to pass optical frequency reference light from an optical network to an injection-locked laser device 42. An optical multiplexer 46 multiplexes outputs of a injection-locked laser device 42 and transmission laser devices 40-1 through 40-3, and an optical frequency discriminator 48 scans optical output of the multiplexer 46. Opto-electrically converted output of a photodetector 52 is applied to a control device 50 which controls driving currents, etc. of the laser devices 40-1 through 40-3 to adjust optical output frequencies of the laser devices 40-1 to 40-3 to predetermined values relative to the optical output frequency of the injection-locked laser device 42. The control device 50 also closes the optical shutter 44 for a moment, and adjusts the driving current, etc. of the injection-locked laser device 42 to equalize the optical frequency of optical output of the injection-locked laser device 42 during the close state of the optical shutter 44 to the value during the open state of the optical shutter 44.

FIG. 5 shows a basic structure of a wavelength-division multiplexed optical transmission network. In wavelength-division multiplexed optical transmission networks, in general, since optical signals of a plurality of adjacent wavelengths are transmitted in a wavelength-division multiplexed form, they need a reference light used as a reference of optical frequencies. Connected to an optical network 10 are a plurality of communication stations 12-1 through 12-7 via optical branching lines 14-1 through 14-7. An optical frequency reference device for generating an optical frequency reference light is provided in the communication station 12-1. The optical frequency reference light output from the communication station 12-1 is sent to the optical network 10 via the optical branching line 14-1, and further to other communication stations 12-2 to 12-7 through the optical branching lines 14-2 to 14-7. From the viewpoint that the communication station 12-1 generates the optical frequency reference light, it is the reference station, and the other communication stations 12-2 through 12-7 are slave stations from the viewpoint that they use the optical frequency reference light from the exterior station 12-1, i.e. the reference station, to stabilize optical frequencies of their own transmission laser devices.
FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing a general construction of a conventional slave station. Its details are discussed by M. W. Maeda, et al. in "Absolute Frequency Identification and Stabilization of DFB Lasers in 1.54 .mu.m Region", Electronics Letters, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 9-11, 1989.
Numerals 20-1, 20-2 and 20-3 denote transmission laser devices for generating transmission optical signals having different wavelengths each other. Their optical outputs and the optical frequency reference light from the network 10 are multiplexed by an optical multiplexer 22 and applied to an optical frequency discriminator 24. Typically used as the optical frequency discriminator 24 is a scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer which converts the optical frequency domain to a time domain by scanning. The optical frequency discriminator 24 repeatedly scans optical outputs of the optical multiplexer 22 over a bandwidth on the optical frequency domain in response to a sweep signal from a control device 26. A photodetector 28 converts an optical output of the optical frequency discriminator 24 into an electric signal, and applies it to the control device 26. By scanning the optical frequency discriminator 24 and by measuring the output level of the photodetector 28 on the time domain, the spectrum of the optical output of the optical multiplexer 22 can be measured.
FIG. 7 shows an example of spectral measurement by the optical frequency discriminator 24. Time along the abscissa corresponds to optical frequencies by scanning. In FIG. 7, (1) is a sweep signal from the control device 26, and (2) is an output of the photodetector 28. Numeral 30 denotes optical frequency reference light from a reference station, and numerals 32-1, 32-2 and 32-3 are optical outputs of the transmission laser devices 20-1, 20-2 and 20-3, respectively. The control device 26 measures sweep times .DELTA.t1, .DELTA.t2 and .DELTA.t3 of the optical outputs 32-1, 32-2 and 32-3 of the transmission laser devices 20-1, 20-2 and 20-3 from the optical frequency reference light 30, and controls drive currents and operation temperatures of the transmission laser devices 20-1, 20-2 and 20-3 so as to maintain the sweep times .DELTA.t1, .DELTA.t2 and .DELTA.t3 at predetermined values. In this manner, optical frequencies of optical outputs of the transmission laser devices 20-1, 20-2 and 20-3 can be stabilized at predetermined values relative to the optical frequency of the optical frequency reference light from the reference station 12-1.
In the conventional frequency stabilizing system, if the optical frequency reference light from the reference station 12-1 is shut off, then the reference for the measurement of time intervals is lost, and behaviors for stabilizing optical frequencies are adversely affected. A possible approach to deal with the situation is to use optical output of one of transmission laser devices (for example, device 20-1) as a provisional optical frequency reference. However, it is not promised that the transmission laser device (e.g. the device 20-1) used as the provisional reference be always used for communication. The output of the device is possibly cut off when it is not used.
It will be possible to hold the output of one of the transmission laser devices used as the provisional optical frequency reference always ON. However, optical demand/assignment systems or optical ATM systems, for example, need the existence of a period of time where the output of the transmission laser device is OFF. Therefore, such systems result in loosing the provisional optical frequency reference during the period and fail in stabilizing the optical frequencies of other transmission optical signals.
When the optical output of the transmission laser device is modulated for data transmission, it is spread over a wide spectral range, which becomes a factor of an error upon determining the reference point on the time base. Therefore, the use of data-modulated transmission light as the provisional optical frequency reference is not desirable.


The present invention relates to an e-cigarette with a plurality of heating components. The e-cigarette with a plurality of heating components is designed in the present invention, where the plurality of heating components are disposed in the atomization core, so that the e-cigarette produces more aerosol and meets user requirements; in addition, a plurality of liquid inlet holes are disposed in the atomization core, so that the e-liquid comes into contact fully with the heating components. This prevents the heating components from scorching due to insufficient e-liquid.

E-cigarettes, also known as electronic cigarettes, are mainly used to quit smoking and replace tobacco cigarettes. The e-cigarettes have similar appearance and taste to the tobacco cigarettes, but generally do not contain tar, suspended particles, and other harmful components found in the tobacco cigarettes. The e-cigarettes do not produce pervasive or lingering secondhand smoke.
Usually, e-liquid is diverted into a heating component and heated to produce aerosol. However, insufficient aerosol produced by an existing e-cigarette cannot meet user requirements. To resolve the foregoing problem, the e-cigarette is correspondingly improved in the following specific manners:
1. Increase the diameter of a hollow mini-hole of the heating component which the e-liquid passes through. However, this is not helpful for effective transformation of the e-liquid into aerosol, and the heating efficiency is low.
2. For the improvement in manner 1, increase the heating temperature of the heating component to improve the heating efficiency. However, power consumption is increased, and high-temperature heating is prone to make the e-cigarette overheated and even damage the e-cigarette.
3. Increase the length of the hollow mini-hole of the heating component which the aerosol passes through. However, an excessively long e-cigarette is not easy-to-use for the user.
How to make the e-cigarette produce more aerosol is one of the major subjects being studied by those skilled in the art.

E-cigarette with a plurality of heating components

O-NET AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


A control system for electrical equipment, the system including: a system controller; a motor; and a signal transducer. The system controller outputs a plurality of rotation switch signals, and the rotation switch signals are high-voltage AC signals. The motor is a brushless DC motor or electronically commutated motor (ECM). The signal transducer is connected between the system controller and the ECM, and includes a rotation switch sensing circuit, a microprocessor controller, and an interface signal processing circuit. The rotation switch sensing circuit detects the rotation switch signals output from the system controller, and transmits the rotation switch signals to the microprocessor controller for processing. The microprocessor controller is connected with the ECM via the interface signal processing circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a signal transducer and a control system for electrical equipment comprising the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as competitions in the electrical equipment field becomes more and more fierce, there is a high demand on the performance index of products, for example, products are required to be energy-conserving and environmentally friendly, to have high level of controllability and intelligence, and shortened development period. A motor is the core and critical part to solve above technical matters. A typical control system for electrical equipment in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a system controller and a motor. The system controller outputs a plurality of rotation switch signals to control a single-phase AC motor PSC (Permanent Split Capacitor). The rotation switch signals are high-voltage AC signals (for example, 220 V AC signals, 115V AC signals, and so on), and the motor is a single-phase AC motor that has low efficiency, relatively high energy consumption, big noise, and low level of controllability and intelligence.
With the development of the motor technology, a brushless DC motor has been developed. The brushless DC motor, also called electronically commutated motor (ECM), is energy-conserving and environmentally friendly, and has high level of reliability of controllability, small noise, and high intelligence. However, if the blushless DC motor is directly used to take the place of the original single phase AC motor of the control system of the electrical equipment, a new set of AC control system compatible with the brushless DC motor must be developed, which would bring up inconvenience to the customers, increase the production cost, prolong the development period, and thus impede the popularization of the technical scheme.
In addition, as different control systems of electrical equipment have different control parameters, in order to apply the control system in a broad field, different types of interface signals, rotational speed values, directions of rotation, control modes, operating voltages, and so on must be defined properly to an ECM, which improves the production cost.

Signal transducer and control system comprising the same


Via holes are formed in a continuous inline shadow mask production system by depositing a first conductor layer and subsequently depositing a first insulator layer over a portion of the first conductor layer. The first insulator layer is deposited in a manner to define at least one notch along its edge. The second insulator layer is then deposited on another portion of the first conductor layer in a manner whereupon the second insulator layer slightly overlaps each notch of the first insulator layer, thereby forming the one or more via holes. A conductive filler can optionally be deposited in each via hole. Lastly, a second conductive layer can be deposited over the first insulator layer, the second insulator layer and, if provided, the conductive filler.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shadow mask deposition system and method for forming electronic elements on a substrate and, more particularly, to forming via holes in a shadow mask deposition process.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, in a multi-layer electronic device, such as a semiconductor device, a via is needed to provide a conductive path through a non-conductive layer (insulator or dielectric layer), in order to connect two or more conducting layers. A via is a structure formed by filling or lining a via hole (or through-hole) with conductive material, which is used to electrically connect two or more conducting layers in a multi-layer substrate.
The creation of vias in typical microcircuit fabrication processes is accomplished by applying a pattern or stencil of etch resistant material over the layer through which the via is to be formed and subsequently applying an etching medium to the wafer to remove areas unprotected by the etch resistant material. The etch resistant material, known as photoresist, is patterned by a process called photolithography, which is a subtractive wet chemical process.
Because photolithography is a subtractive process, it is a process that lends well to the formation of via holes in the manufacture of multi-layer electrical devices. The multi-layer electrical device fabrication process includes numerous deposition and etching steps in order to define appropriate patterns of conductors, insulators and vias. Exemplary photolithography processing steps that produce vias in a multi-layer electrical device include: applying a photoresist pattern of via holes upon an insulator layer; developing the image whereupon photoresist remains everywhere except at the via locations; baking the image; etching the structure whereupon the etching material dissolves the insulator layer but not the photoresist, thereby forming a hole in the insulator layer in the areas where there is no photoresist without damaging an underlying conductor; and removing the remaining photoresist which leaves the insulation layer (with via holes therethrough) on top of the underlying conductor. As can be seen, the multi-layer electrical device fabrication process utilizes numerous deposition and etching steps in order to define one or more appropriate patterns, especially vias.
Because of the number of steps required to form multi-layer electronic devices, such as semiconductor devices, with the photolithographic manufacturing process, foundries of adequate capacity for volume production are very expensive. Furthermore, because of the nature of the fabrication process, the production equipment must be utilized in a class one or class ten clean room. In addition, because of the amount of equipment needed and the size of each piece of equipment, the clean room must have a relatively large area, which can be relatively expensive.
A vapor deposition shadow mask process is well known and has been used for years in microelectronics manufacturing. The vapor deposition shadow mask process is a significantly less costly and less complex manufacturing process compared to the photolithography process. However, in contrast to the photolithography manufacturing process, the vapor deposition shadow mask process is an additive process that is performed in a vacuum environment. In order to form a pattern by shadow mask vacuum deposition, an opening (aperture) is required in the mask to allow material to pass therethrough. However, to make a non-deposit area (such as a via hole), a blockage is needed in the mask to block the area from material being deposited thereon. Therefore, in order to make a via hole, a land mass in the form of an unconnected island is needed to block the via location. This is not possible with a shadow mask because there would be no material to support the blocked area.
Furthermore, a continuous inline, reel-to-reel shadow mask deposition process, which is an additive process, presents a technical challenge in making via holes without disrupting the process. For example, it is inefficient and impractical to insert one or more photolithography steps into a highly efficient inline, reel-to-reel shadow mask deposition process.
Therefore, what is needed, and not disclosed in the prior art, is a method and apparatus for forming a via hole in an automated shadow mask vacuum deposition process.

System for and method of forming via holes by multiple deposition events in a continuous inline shadow mask deposition process


A lighting device includes a housing having first and second housing parts to define a receiving space. The housing parts are inwardly recessed and converge into marginal regions, respectively. Arranged in the receiving space is a light conductor. A plastic film strip is arranged between edges of the housing parts and is transparent for light emitted by the light conductor, with the emitted light being projected into one end face of the film strip and extracted from another end face of the film strip. The film strip is sized to terminate flush with the housing parts.

The present invention relates, in general, to a lighting device, and more particularly to a contour lighting for a motor vehicle.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Lighting devices come in various types and shapes to illuminate a space or to identify or highlight certain articles or objects. These lighting devices are oftentimes referred to as contour lightings as they accent the shape and contour of an object being highlighted. Contour lightings find applications in equipments or machines and also in motor vehicles. In particular, when used in motor vehicles, contour lightings find applications for speakers, buttons, control panels, cup holders etc. These types of lighting devices are in fact lighting strips which highlight certain contours. Such contour lightings are typically line lights that are realized by a light conductor which tracks the contour being highlighted. The light conductor is directly visible or installed behind a diffuser disk. Light is projected into one end face of the light conductor and exits to the side along the light conductor so that a linear light strip becomes visible.
To avoid an adverse impact on the properties of such a light-conducting element, such as a light conductor, such an element requires a cross sectional area of at least about 7 mm2, whereby a height/width or diameter should not be less than 2.5 mm. Parameters that limit the use of diffuser disks include production and integration in the available installation space. For that reason, conventional contour lightings have a significant width, i.e. the bright light strip is fairly broad, i.e. typically about 2.5 mm or more. Such a broad light strip is however in some cases undesired for optical reasons as the object to be highlighted is fairly small so that such a broad light strip would virtually be overdimensioned, or for structural reasons because it may not be possible to install such a broad light strip.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved lighting device to obviate prior art shortcomings.


A track system for a rubber tracked work vehicle comprises temperature sensor and an antenna attached to a track wheel. The antenna is connected to the temperature sensor to transmit to a receiver a temperature signal generated by the temperature sensor. A work vehicle comprising the track system and a temperature measuring method are also disclosed.

A tracked work vehicle is provided with an undercarriage suspension in order to increase adhesion and traction performances on soft grounds, such as grounds affected by a relatively high degree of humidity or grounds having a relatively high quantity of sand.
A rubber tracked vehicle is preferred to satisfy the additional need for a relatively high speed on paved streets, e.g. during a travel of the work vehicle to and from a construction site or a cultivated field. Furthermore, a rubber track tends to be relatively less expensive than other tracks. A rubber track of the vehicle is guided by wheels during a traction condition of the vehicle and, in such condition, heat generates due to friction between the track and the wheels.
Overheating of the rubber track and, in particular, the wheels is experienced during certain working conditions, e.g. during an extensive use on a paved street. Overheating is disadvantageous because track and roller wear increases and, therefore, the cost and time for maintenance of the vehicle are increased as well.
The above in particular applies when a roller wheel, i.e. wheel having the smallest diameter compared to other wheels, comprises an outer polymeric layer contacting the rubber track. It is important to preserve such polymeric layer during functioning.

Track system comprising a sensor and vehicle comprising the same


An internet telephone communication system including a voice transmitting and receiving parts and a method of operating the system are disclosed. The voice transmitting part retransmits voice data packets at least once through an internet network according to a retransmission frequency information packet received from the voice receiving part. The voice receiving part transmits the retransmission frequency information packet to the voice transmitting part in order to request to retransmit the voice data packets R times, where R is determined based a data loss rate calculated. By retransmitting the voice data packets, the transmitting rate of the data and the corresponding VOIP conversation quality are greatly improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an internet telephone communication system, and more particularly, to an internet telephone communication system that improves a VOIP conversation quality by varying a number of retransmissions based on the data loss rate of the voice data packets received.
2. Background of the Related Art
In a telephone communication system using an internet network, analog voice signals are initially digitalized, encoded, and get transmitted in forms of voice data packets by a transmitter. A receiver then receives the voice data packets sent, converts them to analog signals, and outputs the analog signals through a speaker.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical internet telephone communication system. According to FIG. 1, the system includes a voice transmitting part that digitalizes and encodes a voice signal and sends the encoded voice data in forms of voice data packets through an internet network; and a voice receiving part that receives the voice data packets and restores the voice data so that the data can be heard. First, the voice transmitting part includes a microphone 101 for receiving a voice signal; an ADC (analog to digital converter) 102 for digitalizing the analog voice signal received from the microphone 101; a voice coder 103 for compressively encoding the digitalized voice signal; and a transmitting protocol processor 104 for generating voice data packets by processing the compressed voice data in accordance to an internet protocol and sending the voice data packets through an internet network 105. The voice receiving part includes a receiving protocol processor 106 for receiving the voice packets transmitted through an internet network 105 and extracting the compressed voice data; a voice decoder 107 for restoring the compressed voice data; a DAC (digital to analog converter) 108 for converting the stored data into analog signals; and a speaker 109 for outputting the converted analog signals.
The system illustrated in FIG. 1 works as follows. First of all, a voice signal generated from a sender is inputted to the microphone 101, and the ADC 102 converts the signal to digital voice data. After the voice coder 103 compressively encodes the digitalized voice data to increase the transmission efficiency, supplemental data such as header and trailer data are added to the compressed voice data in the transmitting protocol processor 104, and the data get transmitted through the internet network 105 in forms of the voice data packets. Then the protocol processor 106 of the receiving part receives the transmitted data, eliminates the supplemental data (i.e., header and trailer) and extracts the compressed voice data. The extracted voice data are then restored in the voice decoder 107, and the DAC 108 converts the restored digital voice data to an analog signal. Finally, the speaker 109 outputs the converted analog voice signal.
However, the internet phone system described above has a problem that the VOIP conversation quality is drastically decreased when some of the voice packets are lost during the transmission or signal process steps. When they are lost in the internet network, empty spaces will be included instead in the received voice data, and the telephone receiver will hear discontinuous sound so that it will be difficult to understand what the caller says. Therefore, since the system does not have any mechanism to prevent such voice packet losses or to correct the error caused by such losses, such losses result a poor VOIP conversation quality.

Apparatus and method for internet telephone communication


A fuel transfer system for use with a motor vehicle of the type having a fuel tank and a fuel sending unit in the fuel tank for pumping fuel thorough a fuel line to the vehicles engine when the engine is idling where the fuel transfer system allows fuel in the fuel tank to also be delivered to an auxiliary fuel vessel such as another fuel tank, a fuel container, or an engine powered machine is provided. Embodiments of the present invention include features for draining the fuel transfer system when it is not in use for filling an auxiliary fuel vessel.

Vehicles, machines, and equipment powered by combustion engines find wide use in a variety of applications. Examples of such vehicles, machines, and equipment include snow blowers, riding tractors, off-road vehicles, electrical generators, motorcycles, snowmobiles, landscaping equipment, and lawn mowers, among others. There continually exists a need to be able to fill the fuel tanks of these vehicles, machines, and equipment in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. Many times it is necessary to transfer fuel to these vehicles, machines, and equipment when they require fueling at a location that is a substantial distance from a fueling station. This filling operation is conventionally accomplished by either transporting the vehicle, machine, or equipment to the fueling station or by bringing a heavy portable container of gas from the fueling station to the vehicle, machine, or equipment. Both of these options suffer from multiple drawbacks. First, transporting a vehicle, machine, or piece of equipment to a fueling station can be time consuming and costly. Second, transporting a portable fuel container from the fueling station to the vehicle, machine, or equipment is ergonomically difficult for the operator, as well as being both environmentally unfriendly due to the possibility that a spillage or accident could occur and a health hazard due to the dangers associated with siphoning.
Accordingly, there exists a continual need to provide a more effective means of transferring fuel to vehicles, machines, and equipment that have run out of fuel during use or operation.


A method of manufacturing a piezoelectric element structure having a supporting substrate and a piezoelectric film supported on the supporting substrate. A first layer, and a second layer having zirconium, each provided with a perovskite structure, are formed in that order on the supporting substrate. The two layers are formed to be in contact with each other or laminated through an intermediate layer. The temperature is set to 500° C. or more at the time of formation of the layers, and cooling is subsequently provided from the formation temperature at least to 450° C. with a cooling speed of 30° C./min or more.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the liquid discharge recording head which is used for an ink jet recording apparatus, and the method of manufacture therefor. The invention also relates to the structure of piezoelectric element which is used for the liquid discharge recording head or the like.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, there has been widely used the printer that adopts an ink jet recording apparatus as a printing device for a personal computer or the like, because of the good printing capability, as well as the easier handling and lower costs thereof, among some other advantages. The ink jet recording apparatus has various types, such as to generate bubbles in ink or some other recording liquid by the application of thermal energy, and discharge liquid droplets by means of pressure waves exerted by such bubbling; to suck and discharge liquid droplets by means of electrostatic power; or to discharge liquid droplets by utilization of pressure waves exerted by an oscillator like a piezoelectric element.
Generally, the one that uses the piezoelectric element is provided with the pressure chamber which is communicated with a recording liquid supply chamber, and the liquid discharge port which is communicated with the pressure chamber. Then, the structure is arranged to provide the pressure chamber with a vibrating plate having piezoelectric element bonded to it. With the structure thus arranged, a designated voltage is applied to each of the piezoelectric elements to allow it to stretch or shrink to generate warping vibrations in order to compress recording liquid in the pressure chamber, hence enabling liquid droplets to be discharged from each of the liquid discharge ports. In recent years, the color ink jet recording apparatus has been in use more widely, and along with this, it has been demanded to enhance the printing performance thereof, such as higher resolution, higher printing speed, and the elongation of recording head in particular. To this end, it has been attempted to materialize the higher resolution and higher printing speed by the provision of a multiple nozzle structure formed by a minutely arranged recording head. To minutely arrange the recording head, the piezoelectric element should be miniaturized for discharging recording liquid. In this respect, an elongated recording head can be manufactured in higher precision at lower costs by arranging the entire process to be completed by one continuous semiconductor film formation process.
However, a method adopted here is such as to form the piezoelectric film of piezoelectric element by burning the powdered PbO, ZrO2, and TiO2 which have been molded in the sheet form. Therefore, it is difficult to form the piezoelectric film in a thickness of less than 10 μm, for example. Thus, the piezoelectric film cannot be processed easily, and makes it difficult to miniaturize the piezoelectric element. Also, the piezoelectric film formed by burning such powder is subjected to being affected by the crystallized granular boundaries which cannot be ignored when the thickness of film is made smaller to make it impossible to obtain excellent piezoelectric characteristics. As a result, there is encountered a problem that the piezoelectric film formed by burning the powder cannot provide sufficient piezoelectric characteristics for discharging recording liquid when it is made thinner than 10 μm. Due to this incapability, it is impossible to materialize a small recording head with the necessary characteristics to discharge recording liquid satisfactorily.
Furthermore, in order to obtain ceramics in high density the dimensional changes due to shrinkage cannot be ignored for the powdered sheet when burning it on the vibration plate, and the structural member of ceramics simultaneously at a temperature of as high as 1,000° C. There is automatically a limit as far as the size is concerned. Here, 20 μm is the limit at present. It is made difficult, therefore, to arrange a plurality of liquid discharge ports (nozzles).
Also, there is proposed in the specification of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application 11-348285, the structure of an ink jet recording head which is microprocessed by the semiconductor process using sputtering method. The proposed ink jet recording head is characterized in that platinum is orientationally filmed on monocrystal MgO, and then, the perovskite that does not contain Zr layer, and PZT layer are formed thereon to provide a laminated member. Now, as one of the inventors hereof has described precisely on pages 144 to 146 and others in the "Sputtering Technologies" under joint authorship with Kiyotaka Wasa and Shigetomo Hayakawa (published by Kyoritsu Publishing Co., Ltd., on Sep. 20, 1992), it has already been disclosed as an effective method to film PZT or PLZT after having filmed the PbTiO3 or PLT, which does not contain Zr beforehand, but the lattice constant of which is not largely different, for example, or by introducing a step of making gradual increase during processing so as to change the film of PZT to that of PLT in that order. Here, the Zr is eventually educed to a substrate priorly when forming a piezoelectric member that contains Zr like PZT.
Further, the method proposed in the aforesaid specification of the laid-open application has significant problems as given below. (1) By the method of manufacture disclosed in the specification thereof, it is impossible to obtain any mono-orientational crystal or monocrystal PZT which is stabilized with good reproduciability. (2) By the method of manufacture disclosed in the specification thereof, it is impossible to obtain the orientated PZT but only on the monocrystal substrate which is extremely expensive, such as monocrystal MgO, leading to an extremely expensive processing eventually. Then, furthermore, the monocrystal substrate of MgO has a limit in its size to make it impossible to obtain a substrate having a large area. (3) In accordance with the method disclosed in the specification thereof, conjugation takes place on the joint portion of the pressure chamber (liquid chamber) member and the piezoelectric member by use of adhesive agent or in the vicinity of the piezoelectric member to make it extremely difficult to obtain reliability with respect to the repeated stress or the like in the area of micromachining which is accompanied by microprocessing.

Process of manufacturing a piezoelectric element


An underground water storage system filled without pumps is provided. The underground water storage system comprises a water source at a first elevation and an underground water storage facility at a second elevation, less than the first elevation. The underground water storage facility is in fluid communication with the water source by a piping and valve system. The pressure difference between the water source at the first elevation and the underground water storage facility provides the motive force to fill the underground water storage system.

Conventional wisdom, whether correct or not, predicts that water resources will become increasingly scarce. This is particularly problematic in arid climates, which climates include desserts and high plains desserts such as, for example, parts of Colorado, U.S.A. Regions may compensate for a general lack of water using water storage facilities and reservoirs. Reservoirs can be used to store vast amounts of water over large tracts of land but suffer drawbacks. Reservoirs are typically exposed resulting in a higher rate of evaporation and a potential for contamination to name but two drawbacks.
Many attempts to overcome the drawbacks of reservoirs have been tried, including using aquifers, which is generally a type of underground water storage. Typically, an aquifer is a subsurface, porous region that is saturated with water. The region may contain gravel or crushed rock, for example. One specific type of subsurface structure that can be saturated with water is an alluvium. Generally, alluvium is associated with riverbeds or mountainous areas and comprises horizontal layers of materials deposited by water over time, which materials include the aforementioned gravel, crushed rock, and the like.
An underground water storage area is typically bounded by an aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability, or an aquiclude, which is a water impermeable barrier such as, for example, bedrock. Manmade impermeable barriers may be arranged in an aquifer to form an underground water storage facility. In other words, once water is introduced to the underground water storage, it will not naturally flow out. The formed underground water storage facility functions somewhat as a pool to store the water.
Conventionally, underground water storage facilities are filled, or charged, with water using either a flood method or a pumping method. A flood method is a slow process to saturate the underground water storage facility and includes flooding the surface area (e.g., the flood plane) above the underground water storage facility or the like. Alternatively, pumps may be coupled to wells to force water into the underground water storage area rapidly under pressure. Pumps, however, require a significant amount of energy and increase a carbon footprint associated with the storage of water.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for charging an underground water storage area.

System and method of using differential elevation induced energy for the purpose of storing water underground

The Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate


A disk apparatus, in which, when a tray is forcibly pushed into a case in the rearward direction with a driving chassis stopped in a downwardly moved state by turning off a power source, the tray returns to the interior of the case. In the disk apparatus, projections of a synthetic resin are extended downward from the portions of a lower surface of the top plate of the case which are close to a rear portion of the tray stored in the case. The lower ends of the projections are positioned lower than an upper surface of the tray.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk apparatus for carrying out a reproduction, recording and erasing of information registered in a disk, for example, a DVD player, and more particularly to a disk apparatus for moving a tray forward and backward smoothly by preventing a so-called avalanche phenomenon of a disk and without damaging the disk.
2. Description of the Related Art
The examples of the related art DVD players include an example shown in FIGS. 6, 7A, and 7B. In this example, a rectangular box type case 1 is formed by a top plate 1a, a bottom plate 1b and a front plate 1c, and provided at one front side corner portion with an apparatus body 2. Around the apparatus body 2 in the case 1, a substantially L-shaped AV printed board 3 in plan and a rectangular main printed board 4 are provided.
The apparatus body 2 has a main chassis 8 supporting a tray 17 adapted to place a disk D thereon so that the tray can be moved forward a and backward b, and a drive chassis 13 which is supported on the main chassis 8 so that the drive chassis can be moved up c and down d around a pivot 9, and which is mounted with a spindle motor 12 provided with an optical pickup 10 and a turntable 11. A cam shaft 14 projecting from a front surface of the drive chassis 13 is fitted in a cam hole 15a of a cam slider 15, and the cam slider 15 is provided on the main chassis 8 so that the cam slider can be slid in the lateral directions e, f which orthogonally cross the longitudinal directions a, b. When the cam slider 15 is slid in the leftward direction e (or rightward direction f), the drive chassis 13 is moved in the vertical directions c, d. A magnet-carrying disk holder 17 opposed to the turntable 11 is set on lateral beam 18 provided between both side walls 8a of the main chassis 8 so that the disk holder can be moved up and down within a predetermined range. Referring to FIG. 1, a reference numeral 19 denotes a disk storage recess formed in a central portion of the tray 7, and 20 a floatation preventing members extending from both side walls 8a of the main chassis 8 to positions above both side edge recesses 7a of the tray 7.
The principle of the actions of this structure will be described. The solid lines in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7A show a playing mode. The disc D is rotated at a high speed by the spindle motor 12 via the turntable 11, and the information recorded in the disk D is read by the optical pickup 10, an image being reproduced on the monitor.
When an unloading signal is inputted from the playing mode, the cam slider 15 is slid leftward e (or rightward f) as shown in FIG. 7B to cause the driving chassis 13 to be moved down d. As a result, after the disk D is transferred from the turntable 11 to the tray 7, the tray 7 is advanced forward a through a disk takeout port 21 of the front plate 1c. The disk D is then taken out from the tray 7, and a new disk D is placed on the tray 7.
When a loading signal is then inputted, the tray is moved back b as shown in FIG. 7A to cause the tray 7 to be moved back b and stored in the interior of the case 1. The cam slider 15 is then slid rightward f (or leftward e) to move the driving chassis upward c and hold the disk D on the tray between the turntable 11 and disk holder 17.
According to the structure, when the power source is turned off on the basis of the unloading signal as shown by solid lines in FIG. 8 with the tray 7 in an forwardly a advanced state, the drive chassis 13 is stopped in a downwardly d moved state. When the tray 7 is forcibly pushed by fingers in the backward b direction and thereby return the tray 7 into the interior of the case 1, the disk D on the tray 7 is held between the turntable 11 and disk holder 17 with the turntable 11 in a lowered state as shown by solid lines in FIG. 8.
When the case is inclined as shown in phantom as shown in FIG. 8, so as to, for example, transport the case 1 to another place with the disk D not held as in the above-described state, the disk D stored in the disk storage recess 19 is disengaged therefrom in the backward b direction. As a result, the disk D is disengaged from a proper position to the extent that a rear half portion of the disk D projects from the tray 7 as shown in a position shown by . . . , and a so-called avalanche phenomenon occurs.
When the power source is turned on in this condition to cause the tray 7 to be moved forward a on the basis of an unloading signal, there is the possibility that the disk D is left in a rear position and falls into the case 1, and that the disk D is held between the forwardly a moving tray 7 and lateral beam 18.
As examples of the related techniques solving these problems, there are techniques disclosed in JP-A-6-251479. In the techniques, a hook is projected from a circumferential edge of a disk storage recess 19 of a tray 7 so as to thereby prevent by inclining a case 1 a disc D from being disengaged from the disk storage recess 19.


Disclosed is a photodetector including an electrically conductive substrate, a first electrode formed on the substrate, a second electrode disposed to be spaced apart from the first electrode, a plasmonic nanostructure positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode and having surface plasmon resonance, and a resistance measuring device or an electrical conductivity measuring device connected to the first electrode and the second electrode.

(a) Field
The present invention relates to a photodetector and an image sensor. Particularly, the present invention relates to a photodetector using surface plasmon resonance and an image sensor.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A known photodetector senses light by using a semiconductor device. A wavelength region of sensed light is determined according to band gap energy of the used semiconductor device. That is, light having energy that is higher than a band gap of the semiconductor device excites electrons of a valence band to a conduction band to change an electrical characteristic of the semiconductor device. Thereby, light is sensed. Accordingly, light having energy that is lower than band gap energy of the semiconductor device is not capable of being sensed. Therefore, in the case of silicon, it is impossible to sense light having a wavelength that is larger than 1.1 μm in an infrared light region.
Band gap energy needs to be adjusted to change the wavelength of light capable of being sensed. A method for doping an impurity or a method for using a semiconductor device of another element has been adopted to adjust band gap energy.
In the known photodetector, when a semiconductor forming a device receives light having energy of a band gap thereof or more, a photocurrent is generated in the semiconductor device, and light is detected by using the photocurrent.
Recently, there have been attempts to use a plasmon resonance phenomenon to detect light. In ["Nanometer-scale germanium photodetector enhanced by a near-infrared dipole antenna", Nature Photonics, V2, pp 226-229, 2008] as a paper presented by Tang et al. in Nature Photonics and U.S. Patent Laid-Open Publication 2011/0198499 as a related application, there is an attempt to detect light by positioning a metal nano-rod type of structure and a dipole antenna over and under a Si or Ge semiconductor to increase an avalanche gain operation effect to measure a photocurrent. In this case, the paper describes that the dipole antenna acts to focus light on the semiconductor. Further, ["Photodetection with active optical antennas", Science, V332, pp 702-704, 2011] as a paper presented by Knight et al. in Science describes that an n-type silicon and an ITO film form a Schottky diode, a gold nano-rod periodically formed therebetween is excited by incident light to form hot electrons, and a portion of the hot electrons contributes to a photocurrent to detect light.
However, in the paper and the patent of Tang et al., light is detected still by using the photocurrent of the semiconductor device. Further, in the paper of Knight et al., the semiconductor device is not used, but light is detected by using the photocurrent flowing between ITO-Au—Si structures. In this case, the photocurrent is shown to be at a pA or nA level.
As described above, the known photodetector is based on the photocurrent excited by light. Accordingly, the wavelength of detected light is inevitably limited.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Photodetector using surface plasmon resonance and image sensor having the same

KOREA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


An electrical connector includes a unitary housing body and a stamped and formed contact. The housing extends from a mounting side to an opposite mating side. The housing body includes a cavity extending through the housing body from the mounting side to the mating side, a contact slot, and a chamfered lead-in ramp disposed at the mating side to guide the contact pin into the cavity. The contact is held in the cavity and extends between a mating segment and a mounting segment. The mating segment is configured to receive the contact pin of the mating connector. The mounting segment is configured to mount the contact to a circuit board and includes a shoulder that is disposed proximate to the mounting side of the housing body. The shoulder engages the housing body in the contact slot to secure the contact in the housing body. A retention insert may be loaded through the mounting side into the cavity to help retain the contact in the housing and may include bumps on opposite sides to provide an interference fit in the cavity.

The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to connectors that include contacts secured in a housing body.
Known electrical connectors include housing bodies that hold contacts. The housing bodies and contacts may be mounted or joined to a circuit board or other device to electrically couple the connector with the circuit board or device. The contacts also may be mated with the contacts of a mating connector to electrically couple the connector and mating connector with one another. Some known connectors include cavities in which the contacts are disposed. The contacts may be receptacle contacts that receive contact pins of the mating connector to electrically couple the receptacle contacts with the contact pins. If the pin contacts are not aligned with the receptacle contacts in the housing body, however, the pin contacts may stub on the ends of the receptacle contacts. For example, instead of receiving the pin contacts into the receptacle contacts, the misaligned pin contacts may stub on the receptacle contacts. In order to provide receptacle contacts that are strong enough to withstand the stubbing of pin contacts on the receptacle contacts, some known receptacle contacts are formed by screw machining the contacts from a solid block of a metal or metal alloy. Screw machining contacts can be a relatively expensive manufacturing process.
Other known connectors include contacts that are stamped and formed from a common sheet of a conductive material. For example, some other known contacts are stamped and formed from a metal sheet. But, stamped and formed contacts may be unsuitable for use as receptacle contacts because the stamped and formed contacts are weaker than screw machined contacts and are more likely to bend or fail when a contact pin stubs on the stamped and formed contact.
A need exists for connectors having contacts that are less expensive to manufacture than some known screw machined contacts and that prevent the contact pins of a mating connector from stubbing on the contacts and causing the contacts to bend or fail.

Electrical connector having contacts secured in a housing body


A TLB provided in a memory management apparatus stores an entry for each logical page, and each entry holds an address of a physical page mapped to a corresponding logical page, an index showing the degradation degree of the physical page, and an index showing the access frequency to the logical page. The memory management apparatus accesses a physical page mapped to a desired logical page according to the data stored in the TLB, periodically exchanges the contents between a first physical page mapped to a specific logical page having a largest access frequency index and a second physical page having a smallest degradation index, and then maps the specific logical page to the second physical page. Through the physical page exchange and corresponding mapping process, accesses to each physical page are distributed, so that degradation in storage function is substantially equalized.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for memory management, and especially to technology for leveling degrees of degradation of a memory device at locations resulting from accesses made to the locations.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Memory devices of a certain type have a characteristic that a location in a memory area degrades as a result of a data erase operation performed to the location. Such memory devices include flash memory devices. When a number of erase operations are performed intensively to a specific location of a flash memory, the specific location degrades outstandingly and eventually fails to store data. As a result, the memory device comes to the end of its usable life earlier than expected.
For this reason, a flash memory device requires memory management for distributing erase operations over the entire memory area of the flash memory device to maximize its usable life.
Due to its structure, a flash memory device has access constraints that bits may be set on an individual basis, but the bits once set need to be reset collectively in units called physical blocks.
For this reason, an access to a flash memory device is often made in units of physical blocks. Typically, the flash memory device writes data into an empty physical block in which all the bits are reset, by setting individual bits in the physical block as required. When the data is no longer needed, the flash memory device erases the data by resetting all the bits in the physical block collectively at the same time. Consequently, the physical block is available again for a next write operation.
In the above process, each bit constituting a physical block of the flash memory device degrades all at once every time the bits are reset to erase data.
JP Unexamined Patent, Application Publication No. 08-016482, for example, discloses a memory management technique made in view of the above-noted access constraints and degradation characteristics of a flash memory device.
FIG. 24 illustrates mapping according to the above conventional memory management technique between logical blocks, which are units of access from a super ordinate device, and physical blocks of a flash memory device.
According to the above technique, the flash memory device keeps counts of write operations and erase operations separately for each logical block.
When instructed to write data to a logical block having a large write count (i.e., frequently accessed), the flash memory device maps the logical block to an empty physical block having a small erase count (i.e., less degraded), and writes the data to the empty physical block.
As a result of this write operation, the number of empty physical blocks having a small write count decreases by one. Therefore, the flash memory device selects one currently used physical block having a small erase count, copies data stored in the selected physical block to another empty physical block, and subsequently erases the data in the selected physical block all at once. Consequently, there is another empty physical block having a small erase count.
Through the series of the above operations, all the physical blocks are made to have substantially even write counts, thereby avoiding a specific physical block degrading intensively. This leads to maximize the usable life of the flash memory.
In recent years, FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) devices, which are a future alternative to flash memory devices, are proceeding toward commercialization.
FeRAM devices are so structured to allow individual bits to be set or reset both on a bit-by-bit basis. Thus, an FeRAM device may be accessed on a bit-by-bit basis (practically, in units of a few bytes, which are the width of a bus).
In an FeRAM device, each bit degrades individually every time when the bit is set or reset as well as when the bit is referenced.
Therefore, in order to maximize its usable life, an FeRAM device also requires memory management to distribute write operations and read operations over an entire memory area of the memory device.
Unfortunately, however, the above conventional memory management for a flash memory is not applied to an FeRAM device without causing the following problems.
First of all, the conventional technique is made on the understanding that the data write operations are the only cause of degradation, and thus insufficient to correctly evaluate degradation of an FeRAM device because the degradation is caused also by a data read operation.
Second of all, the conventional technique is made based on the understanding that degradation takes place in units of a physical block and thus without consideration that degradation degrees may be nonuniform within one physical block. For this reason, the conventional technique is insufficient to suppress local degradation that may take place within one physical block of an FeRAM device due to its random access capability.
Lastly, although it is preferable to take some measures to reduce the absolute number of accesses especially in the case of an FeRAM, which is capable of fast access, the conventional technique fails to address the need.

Apparatus and method for memory management

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method for adjusting and/or calibrating a surroundings sensor in a vehicle using a measuring unit and a calibration panel.

The calibration and adjustment of sensors for driver assistance systems in a (motor) vehicle generally include determining the location of a surroundings sensor in relation to the chassis geometry or a defined vehicle coordinate system.
In the repair shop, for example, the location of a video camera for using driver assistance functions (e.g., for a warning when departing from the lane, detecting objects and the like) is to be recalibrated in relation to the chassis geometry after the camera has been installed or after major changes are made to the chassis. Radar sensors for automatic speed control, e.g., ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), frequently must be mechanically adjusted to the chassis geometry, due to their narrow opening angle.
Examples of the calibration and adjustment of sensors for driver assistance systems are:                Testing and adjusting radar-based distance sensors ("Adaptive Cruise Control")        Testing and adjusting infrared-based distance sensors ("lidar")        Testing and calibrating rear view camera systems ("rear view")        Testing and calibrating lane keeping camera systems ("lane departure warning")        Testing and calibrating lane changing assistants ("blind spot detection")        Infrared night view camera ("night view")        Surroundings camera systems ("side view," "top view")
The following requirements must be established to calibrate and adjust sensors for driver assistance systems:                Known chassis geometry for defining the vehicle coordinate system        Orienting a calibrating/adjusting means in the field of vision of the sensor to be calibrated/adjusted at a predefined position in relation to the chassis coordinate system
To ensure a known chassis geometry and to reduce costs and complexity, calibrating and adjusting devices are often offered as add-ons to measuring devices for chassis measurement.
A method for calibrating a video camera sensor, which is described, for example, in German Patent Application No. DE 10 2008 042 018 A1, is described below by way of example with reference to FIG. 1. The relation between the coordinate systems described below for determining the chassis geometry is implemented with the aid of optical 3D measuring systems, as described by Steffen Abraham, Axel Wendt, Günter Nobis, Volker Uffenkamp and Stefan Schommer in Optische 3D-Messtechnik zur Fahrwerksvermessung in der Kfz-Werkstatt (3D Measuring Systems for Chassis Measurement in the Automotive Repair Shop), Oldenburger 3D-Tage, Wichmann Verlag, 2010.
To measure the chassis, wheel clamps 28, 30 are mounted on wheels 12, 14 of a vehicle 7, to which, in turn, wheel measuring panels (targets) 20, 22 having photogrammetric measuring marks are attached. A measuring head 32, 46 is situated on the left and right sides of vehicle 7. Each measuring head 32, 46 includes two stereo camera systems, each of which has two cameras 36, 38, 40, 42, 50, 52 54, 56 and one reference system 44, 58.
The geometry of cameras 36, 38, 40, 42, 50, 52 54, 56 of the two stereo camera systems of a measuring head 32, 46 is calibrated both intrinsically and extrinsically with regard to its relative orientation. The calibration makes it possible to determine the 3D coordinates of the measuring marks on wheel measuring panels 20, 22 within coordinate system XV (front) or XH (rear) of particular measuring head 32, 46 within a shared measuring head coordinate system XL (left) or XR (right). The wheel measuring panels 20, 22 used do not have to be high precision pass point panels having premeasured measuring points.
Provided that wheel measuring panels 20, 22 are attached to wheels 12, 14 in a mechanically stable manner, the 3D location of wheel axle 13 may be determined continuously in all four stereo camera systems 36, 38; 40, 42; 50, 52; 54, 56. Reference systems 44, 58 furthermore continuously measure the toe angle between measuring heads 32, 46 and the tilting of measuring heads 32, 46. This makes it possible to calculate the chassis variables, e.g., the toe and camber angles, as well as other variables of the chassis, such as the steering geometry, including the kingpin and caster angles. Geometric vehicle coordinate system XM is finally defined by vehicle longitudinal axis 64, which is predefined by the toe of rear wheels 12, 14 now being measured.
The goal of the calibration is to determine the location and orientation of the camera of a surroundings sensor 15 within coordinate system XM of vehicle 7. For this purpose, a calibrating/adjusting device 62 having known measuring mark positions is positioned in front of vehicle 7 at point XT-FIX.
For the calibration operation, calibrating/adjusting device 62 is monitored by the camera of surroundings sensor 15 of the driver assistance system. The image coordinates of measuring marks on calibrating/adjusting device 62 are measured by the driver assistance system. Absolute orientation XC of the camera in relation to calibrating/adjusting device XT-FIX is determined by a spatial resection. This optical measuring step is carried out by control unit 17 of the driver assistance system in vehicle 7. The calibration step is started via the diagnostic interface of control unit 17 in vehicle 7.
To be able to determine the installation angles (pitch, yaw and roll angles) and other parameters of the camera in relation to the chassis geometry, the position of calibrating/adjusting device XT-FIX within coordinate system XM of vehicle 7 is known to control unit 17 in vehicle 7. The software in control unit 17 requires that calibrating/adjusting device 62 be located at permanently defined position XT-FIX known to control unit 17. Only if this is the case will the installation angles ascertained by control unit 17 be correct.
The manual orientation of calibrating/adjusting device 62 to position XT-FIX is associated with a certain amount of time and requires extensive knowledge of the calibration operation on the part of the auto mechanic. An imprecisely oriented calibrating/adjusting device 62 results in accuracy losses during calibration and adjustment of the camera or surroundings sensor 15.

Method and device for calibrating and adjusting a vehicle surroundings sensor


An art training device. A graphics scroll presents various images suitable for tracing or copying, or blank spaces for freehand drawing, as it is wound or unwound on spindles. A transparent drawing sheet is mounted just above the scroll for the user to practice on.

There are numerous techniques for teaching art and drawing. A couple of features that might be desirable in a training device for children or aspiring artists or draftsmen might be: 1. a large inventory of sample drawings or pictures readily available to copy or trace, and 2. a practice surface that is easily erasable and can be used for either tracing and copying of practice samples or freehand drawing. The present invention provides these features.


A device for adjusting the phase angle of a camshaft of an internal combustion engine relative to the camshaft driving gear, includes an adjusting element which engages with both a member supporting the drive gear and a member rigidly connected to the camshaft, an axial movement of the adjusting element effecting a turning of the camshaft relative to its drive gear, and further including an electric motor for axially displacing the adjusting element, which motor is rigidly connected to the camshaft and is supplied with power through slip rings. Reliable adjustment is obtained in a simple manner by providing the adjusting element with a first threaded section which meshes with a threaded section of the member rigidly connected to the camshaft, and a second threaded section which meshes with a threaded section of the member supporting the camshaft drive gear.

The invention relates to a device for adjusting the phase angle of a camshaft of an internal combustion engine relative to the camshaft driving gear, including an adjusting element which engages with both a member supporting the drive gear and a member rigidly connected to the camshaft, an axial movement of the adjusting element effecting a turning of the camshaft relative to its drive gear, and further including an electric motor for axially displacing the adjusting element, which motor is rigidly connected to the camshaft and is supplied with power through slip rings.

Device for adjusting the phase angle of a camshaft of an internal combustion engine


There is described a welding station for motor-vehicle bodies or subassemblies thereof in which the body side panels are engaged during welding by locking devices arranged in the space between the body sides and carried by two locating gates which are rigidly connected to each other by means of quick coupling means.

The present invention relates to devices for spot-welding of motor-vehicle bodies or subassemblies thereof, of the known type comprising:
a welding station, provided with programmable means for electric spot-welding, PA1 conveyor means, for transporting at least part of the structure to be welded to the station and for transporting the structure after that it has been welded out of the welding station, PA1 at least one pair of locating gates arranged on two opposite sides of the welding station, provided with locating and locking devices for keeping the component elements of the structure to be welded in the proper welding position while welding is being carried out, said gates being displaceable towards and away from each other, between an inoperative mutually spaced apart condition, in which said locating and locking devices are disengaged from the structure to be welded, and a mutually close operative condition, in which said locating and locking devices are able to engage the structure to be welded, PA1 and in which each locating gate is an independent unit, with a base portion movably mounted at the welding station and an upper portion which extends upwardly from the base portion.
A device of the above described type has formed the subject of European patent application EP-A-0 642 878 of the same Assignee. Another device of the same type has also formed the subject of European patent application No. 97830456.6, also of the same Applicant, which has not yet been published at the filing date of the present application.
The Applicant has been producing and marketing a flexible welding system for many years, which is identified under the trademark "ROBOGATE", whose basic concept has been originally disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,957 and the corresponding German patent No. 28 10 822 and from which a number of subsequent improvements and variants have been originated with the time which have also formed the subject of corresponding patents of the Applicant. The ROBOGATE system has actually determined a turn around in the welding technique of motor-vehicle bodies which was generally used until the end of the seventies and has replaced the previous apparatus used at many car manufacturers throughout the world. In a basic version of this system, it comprises two or more pairs of locating gates which are rapidly interchangeable at the welding station and are adapted to operate on respective types of car bodies, The system is able to operate on bodies also very different from each other, so that a same line can be used for producing different models. A further advantage of the ROBOGATE system lies in that it can be adapted with relatively simple and rapid operations and hence at very reduced costs, to the production of a new body model. Another advantage lies in that a uniform quality of all the models of a same type on which the system operates is assured.
The known technique corresponding to the ROBOGATE system provides that each body to be welded reaches the welding station in a loosely preassembled condition. In fact, upstream of the ROBOGATE welding station there are provided one or more "toy-tabbing" stations, in which the various elements forming the car body are provisionally assembled with each other by bending connecting tabs. This provisional connection is naturally a loose connection, i.e. it allows small displacements of each element with respect to the adjacent element. Just for this reason, the locating gates provided at the welding station are provided with locking devices which engage the various parts of the car body in order to lock them in the proper assembling position before spot welds are carried out by the robots which usually form the welding means provided at the station. Once a number of welding spots sufficient to give a stable geometry to the car body has been carried out (at one or more ROBOGATE stations), the car body proceeds towards further stations for completing welding, which do not require any longer the use of locking devices.

Device for spot-welding of motor-vehicle bodies or subassemblies thereof