An exhaust gas recirculation system for an internal combustion engine, which comprises an intake plenum, an exhaust gas system, and a fresh-air feed line and an exhaust gas recirculation line connected to the intake plenum, includes a sensor, arranged in the intake plenum for measuring an amount of an exhaust gas component, and a controller constructed for outputting a correcting variable based on the sensor and adjusting the percentage by mass of inert gas in the intake plenum on the basis of the correcting variable. The sensor arranged in the intake plenum is a gas concentration sensor which is equipped for determining the air ratio, the oxygen concentration or the carbon dioxide concentration in the intake plenum and to output as sensor variable a variable representing the air ratio, the oxygen concentration or the carbon dioxide concentration to controller.

In an exhaust gas recirculation system for an internal combustion engine, a part of the exhaust gas mass flow flowing through the exhaust gas manifold is recirculated into the intake plenum of the engine. The recirculated exhaust gas is mixed with fresh air in or before the intake plenum. The exhaust gas recirculation rate, i.e. the proportion of the exhaust gas mass flow in the total flow of the exhaust gas/fresh air mixture supplied to the intake plenum, may be adjusted via one or more valves and possibly also via the turbine geometry of a turbocharger having a variable turbine geometry. In vehicles with turbochargers, the exhaust gas is frequently taken off from the exhaust system upstream of the turbine section of the turbo charger.
One goal to be achieved through the use of exhaust gas recirculation systems is the reduction of the pollutant discharge from engines. This requires suitable control systems for the exhaust gas recirculation system. An exhaust gas recirculation system in which the exhaust gas recirculation rate is adjusted on the basis of the operating state of the internal combustion engine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,075.
To further improve the behavior of internal combustion engines with exhaust gas recirculation in regard to their pollutant discharge, an exhaust gas recirculation system in which a pressure-dependent regulation of the exhaust gas recirculation rate takes place is described in DE 101 30 471 A1.
The inventors herein have recognized that, although it has already been possible to achieve advances in reducing the pollutant emissions through the use of exhaust gas recirculation systems of the prior art, further improvements are required. For example, in the exhaust gas recirculation systems of the prior art, a strongly pulsating flow of the exhaust gas recirculation can occur, for example. The strong pulsating leads to a poorer quality of the mixing of exhaust gas and fresh air and thus to a non-optimal behavior with regard to the pollutant discharge. In addition, it is difficult to measure the mass flow of the recirculated exhaust gas in exhaust gas recirculation systems of the prior art.
Further, a strong interaction between the dynamics of exhaust gas recirculation and the dynamics of the charging pressure in the exhaust gas turbocharger leads to problems in the application of conventional decentralized control algorithms for controlling the exhaust gas mass flow or the charging pressure, respectively.
Finally, the temperature in the intake plenum depends on the charging pressure and the exhaust gas mass flow and can thus not be adjusted independently of these two parameters.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method and a system to provide a motor vehicle with an improved exhaust gas recirculation system, and more particularly to an improved method for adjusting the exhaust gas recirculation rate in an exhaust gas recirculation system.
According to this invention, an exhaust gas recirculation system for an internal combustion engine having an intake plenum, an exhaust gas system, and a fresh-air feed line connected to the intake plenum includes: an exhaust gas recirculation line connected to the intake plenum, at least one sensor, arranged in the intake plenum, said sensor providing a signal indicative of an amount of an exhaust gas component, a controller reading said sensor signal, said controller calculating a correcting variable based on said sensor signal, and adjusting a mixing ratio of exhaust gas to fresh air in the intake plenum based on said calculated correcting variable.
According to one aspect of the invention, the sensor is a gas concentration sensor. In one embodiment of the present invention, the sensor determines the oxygen concentration in the intake plenum and to outputs a variable representing the oxygen concentration to the controller. In an alternative embodiment, the sensor may be a carbon monoxide sensor.
The exhaust gas recirculation system according to the invention enables the oxygen concentration or carbon dioxide concentration in the intake plenum to be estimated, which makes it possible to control the percentage by mass of the inert gas in the intake plenum.
Instead of on the basis of the oxygen or carbon dioxide concentration measured in the intake plenum alone, the correcting variable can also be produced on the basis of the oxygen or carbon dioxide concentration measured/estimated in the intake plenum together with an oxygen or carbon dioxide concentration measured in the exhaust gas system. In this case, the exhaust gas recirculation system is also equipped with a gas concentration sensor for detecting the oxygen concentration or carbon dioxide concentration, which is arranged in the exhaust gas system, for example in the exhaust manifold.
A turbocharger with variable turbine geometry and/or an exhaust gas return valve in the exhaust gas recirculation line and/or a choke valve in the fresh air feed line can be used for adjusting the mixing ratio of exhaust gas to fresh air. Correspondingly, the exhaust gas recirculation system according to the invention is equipped with an exhaust gas return valve in the exhaust gas recirculation line and an actuator for influencing the valve position of the exhaust gas return valve in one embodiment of the invention. Alternatively or additionally, the exhaust gas recirculation system according to the invention can be equipped with a turbocharger with variable turbine geometry and an actuator for influencing the turbine geometry. As a further alternative or also additionally, the exhaust gas recirculation system according to the invention can have a choke valve in the fresh-air feed line and an actuator for influencing the valve position of the choke valve.
The invention is suitable for use in exhaust gas recirculation systems with high-pressure exhaust gas recirculation lines and systems with low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation lines. Naturally, the invention can also be used in exhaust gas recirculation systems which are equipped both with a high-pressure exhaust gas recirculation line and with a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation line.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling the mixing ratio of exhaust gas to fresh air in an exhaust gas recirculation system of an internal combustion engine, includes: measuring an amount of an exhaust gas component in an engine intake plenum, calculating a correcting variable based on said measured exhaust gas component amount, and adjusting a mixing ratio of exhaust gas to fresh air in said intake plenum based on said received correcting variable. The sensor may be an oxygen sensor or a carbon monoxide sensor.
The method according to the invention makes it possible to keep the mixing ratio in the intake plenum in a stable, steady-state condition.
The control method can be improved further, in particular with respect to transitions between various operating states of the engine, if the open cross-sectional area of the exhaust gas return valve, which is available to the exhaust gas mass flow to be recirculated, is known with sufficient accuracy. For this purpose, the method can comprise a measurement of this effective cross-sectional area which is available.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and from the claims.

System and method for adjusting the exhaust gas recirculation rate in an internal combustion engine


A foreign agent routes data packets according to policy based routing information maintained by the home network. The policy may be network based or may be subscriber profile based as defined in an authentication, authorization, and accounting server. The policy routes data packets according to one of an address specified in the mobile IP header and an application type. The address specified in the mobile IP header is typically within a range of addresses within the home network. The foreign agent routes data packets of the specified policy type directly to the home agent server. Data packets that are not of the specified policy type are routed directly to an Internet access point.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile communication devices and, more particularly, the present invention relates to mobile terminals communicating in a mobile IP network.
2. Related Art
The Internet, as we know it today, began as a joint project between the Department of Defense's (DoD's) Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) and the United Kingdom's National Physics Lab (NPL) during the height of the Cold War. When planning started in 1967, the project was conceived to distribute communications and data through a dispersed network of highly interconnected network nodes with high redundancy. A decision was made, based on research at the NPL, to move data through the network using a technique called "message switching", or packet switching as it is called today. In order to exchange data, each node was assigned a unique address in relation to the addresses assigned to all other nodes. The address scheme devised was a 32-bit number comprising a network part and a host (network node) part. By 1971, 15 nodes, mostly at universities, were connected to the ARPA network (ARPANET). They were linked for time sharing to support a variety of remote terminals and allowed data transfers between distant computers.
The early 1970s produced a number of products that would effect the development of the ARPANET. The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), funded by Xerox Corporation, developed a graphical user interface (GUI), a computer pointing device called a mouse, and most importantly, an Ethernet protocol, for inter-connecting computers that allowed users to send and receive electronic mail and share files.
At the same time that ARPANET was being develop for institutional use, the first personal computer was introduced by Altair in 1975. Sold as a kit, it was an instant success with computer enthusiast but its sales were limited due to the technical skill required to assemble the kit. It did, however, confirm that a market existed for a personal computer. Thus, in 1981, International Business Machines (IBM) introduced the Personal Computer (PC) which became the defacto industry standard. The IBM PC was an open architecture machine, meaning IBM published all technical details of the PC. This fact allowed low cost providers to produce PC "clones" so consumers were able to purchase personal computers at affordable prices. Low cost dial-up modems allowed PC users to download files from bulletin boards.
By the late 1980s, the ARPANET was almost 20 years old. The DoD split the ARPANET into two distinct parts for specific uses. One part was reserved for military sites (known as MILNET), while the ARPANET was for civilian use. Management of the ARPANET was turned over to the National Science Foundation (NSF) with NSF regional networks forming the backbone of the re-named Internet. Commercial Internet service providers (ISP) began offering Internet access points (AP) through which large numbers of PC users began accessing the Internet: These PCs were desktop machines whose location was not likely to change, thus creating a home network for ISP.
As technology evolved, smaller, more powerful laptop PCs became available. Their size released them from the desktop and the office. Sales, marketing, and technical personnel could take the laptop PCs on the road while maintaining contact with the office through remote applications such as e-mail and file transfers. These laptop PCs created mobile users that wanted to access the Internet while moving between networks, thereby causing a transition from a centralized system to a distributed system. Advances in wireless technology made wireless networking possible. Using a mobile IP protocol, laptop PCs, personal digital assistants (PDA) and mobile phones equipped for web browsing could access the Internet. Using either a static or dynamic mobile IP address assigned by their home networks, these mobile users or mobile terminals accessed the Internet from any available Internet access point.
When a mobile terminal changes its access point from its home network to a foreign network, it does not change its mobile IP address. Home agents (HA) are special servers responsible for routing data packets to absent mobile terminals. The HA is informed of the absent mobile terminal's location when the mobile terminal registers with the foreign network. The server on the foreign network, the foreign agent (FA), provides its IP address (care-of address) to the HA during mobile terminal registration. After registration, the FA is responsible for routing data packets between the mobile terminal and home network via the HA. A problem exists, however, in that not all data packets are destined for the home network. For example, data packets destined for a web server are routed to the HA causing the HA to forward them to the web server. A response from the web server is routed back to the HA which must then forward the data packets back to the FA. This routing and re-routing of data packets requires the home network provider to provision equipment and resources for network traffic that is not explicitly intended for the home network.
Accordingly, there is a need in a wireless data network for a method and apparatus to intelligently route mobile terminal data packets in a manner that is more efficient in terms of resource requirements and that reduces unnecessary network traffic.


A digital data receiver comprising a first frequency converter for converting a high frequency digital orthogonal modulation signal into a first intermediate frequency signal based on a first local oscillation signal, a second frequency converter for converting the first intermediate frequency signal into a second intermediate frequency signal based on a second local oscillation signal, and a demodulator for performing a orthogonal demodulation to the second intermediate frequency signal based on a third local oscillation signal, wherein the first local oscillation signal is generated by a variable oscillator for a PLL frequency synthesizer, the second local oscillation signal is generated by a high frequency oscillator in which its oscillation frequency is controlled based on the frequency control signal generated by the modulator to perform the orthogonal demodulation processing, and the third local oscillation signal is generated by a fixed oscillator in which its oscillation frequency is fixed.

A conventional digital picture data receiver may be constructed as shown in FIG. 1 when used for a digital television broadcasting system such as a digital data transmission system. That is, numeral 11 in FIG. 1 denotes an input terminal to which a plurality of high frequency digital orthogonal modulation signals are processed such as QPSK (four phase shift modulation) modulation. 16 QAM (16 quadrature amplitude modulation) modulation and 64 QAM modulation.
These plurality of high frequency digital orthogonal modulation signals supplied to the input terminal 11 are amplified by a high frequency amplifier 12 and then supplied to a first mixer 13. Then the high frequency digital orthogonal modulation signals are mixed with a first local oscillation signal output from a first local oscillator 16 which comprises a first high frequency oscillator 14 and a first PLL (phase-locked loop) 15. Then the high frequency digital orthogonal modulation signals are up-converted to a first intermediate frequency signal. In this case, it is possible to choose a desirable signal among the plurality of high frequency digital orthogonal modulation signals by means of properly changing the frequency of the first local oscillation signal.
The first intermediate frequency signal output from the first mixer 13 experiences a band limitation in a first intermediate frequency BPF (band-pass filter). The first intermediate frequency signal is then amplified in a first intermediate frequency amplifier 18 and further supplied to a second mixer 19. The first intermediate frequency signal is mixed with a second local oscillation signal output from a second local oscillator 22 which is comprised of a second high frequency oscillator 20 and a second PLL 21. Thus the first intermediate frequency signal is down-converted into a second intermediate frequency signal. In this case, the frequency of the second local oscillation signal output from the second local oscillator 22 is almost fixed.
Here, the second intermediate frequency signal output from the second mixer 19 experiences a band limitation in a second intermediate frequency BPF 23, and after that the band limited second intermediate frequency signal is supplied to both of an I axis phase comparator 24 and a Q axis phase comparator 25. A pair of third local oscillation signals are supplied to the I axis phase comparator 24 and the Q axis phase comparator 25, respectively. The pair of third local oscillation signals are orthogonally related in their phases with each other.
Further the I axis phase comparator 24 and the Q axis phase comparator 25 perform a synchronous detection or a quasi-synchronous detection on the second intermediate frequency signal by comparing the phases of the second intermediate frequency signal and the third local oscillation signal, so as to demodulate the I signal and Q signal. The I signal output from the I axis phase comparator 24 and the Q signal output from the Q axis phase comparator 25 are respectively output from the output terminals 29 and 30 through the phase control signal generator 28.
The phase control signal generator 28 generates the phase control signal controlling the third local oscillation signal for the synchronous detection or the quasi-synchronous detection in the I axis phase comparator 24 and the Q axis comparator 25. The phase control signal output from the phase control signal generator 28 is supplied to the third local oscillator 26 after a conversion to the phase control voltage by a COSTAS loop LPF (low pass filter) so as to control the oscillation frequency.
Here, the first local oscillator 18 is a variable oscillator with a PLL frequency synthesizer. While the second local oscillator 22 is generally configured by a fixed oscillator with a PLL frequency synthesizer.
However, the conventional digital data receiver as described above has drawbacks. For instance, the receiver requires two systems having independent PLL frequency synthesizers. The receiver is also complicated in its construction and expensive since the receiver utilizes the PLL frequency synthesizers for the first and second local oscillators 16 and 22 as well as a highly stabilized oscillator such as a VCXO (voltage controlled crystal oscillator) for the third local oscillator 26 to secure a higher frequency stability.


The present invention relates to an optical waveguide chip, etc., having a structure for effectively avoiding or suppressing peeling of an optical waveguide layer in a process of cutting a wafer. The optical waveguide chip comprises a substrate having a main surface, and an optical waveguide layer formed on the main surface of the substrate. The optical waveguide layer comprises a cladding portion and a core portion that is disposed inside the cladding portion and that has a higher refractive index than the cladding portion, and at least one of side surfaces of the optical waveguide layer is positioned at a predetermined distance toward a center of the main surface from an edge of the main surface. This arrangement includes an arrangement having a thin film portion at a peripheral region that includes the edge of the main surface. In the case that the optical waveguide layer has the thin film portion at its periphery, the optical waveguide layer has a side surface that coincide with the side surface of the substrate including the edge of the main surface and a side surface that is separated by a predetermined distance from edge of the main surface. By this arrangement, when cutting a wafer into chip units, even if chipping occurs at an edge of the main surface of the substrate to be cut, peeling of the optical waveguide layer, formed on the substrate, is suppressed effectively.

Optical waveguide chips are used to branch or couple light that propagates through optical fibers and other light transmitting media. For example, an embedded type of optical waveguide chip has, on a substrate, formed of Si, etc., a polymer optical waveguide layer, which includes a core that guides light and a cladding that covers the core. Such optical waveguide chips are manufactured, for example, by the following method. First, a lower cladding layer is formed on a Si wafer. A core layer, with a higher refractive index than the lower cladding layer, is then formed to an arbitrary planar shape on the lower cladding layer by a photolithography technique or an etching technique. An upper cladding layer is then formed so as to cover the core layer. Optical waveguide chips are then obtained by cutting the Si wafer, on which the lower cladding layer, the core layer, and the upper cladding layer have been formed, along predetermined lines into chips.
As an art for cutting a Si wafer into chips in a method of manufacturing such optical waveguide chips, there is, for example, an optical waveguide chip manufacturing method disclosed in a Patent Document 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining this method. In this method, after an optical waveguide 102 is formed on a wafer substrate 101, parts of the optical waveguide 102 and the substrate 101 are cut by a dicing blade 103. By this cutting, an end surface 102a of the optical waveguide 102 is formed, and a step 101b, having a side surface that is coplanar to the end surface 102a of the optical waveguide 102, is formed on the substrate 101. In the Patent Document 1, it is indicated that abrasive grains, formed by the cutting of the substrate 101, become fine particles by being pulverized finely between the substrate 101 and the dicing blade 103, and an action of polishing the optical waveguide end surface 102 is provided by the fine particles. It is also indicated in the Patent Document 1 that when full-cut dicing of the substrate (cutting of the substrate fully in a thickness direction) is performed by the dicing blade 103, larger chipping (nicking) occurs in comparison to performing half-cut dicing (cutting of the substrate partially in the width direction and leaving of a portion of the substrate in the width direction) by the dicing blade 103 and consequently, the optical waveguide end surface becomes flawed and the optical waveguide becomes peeled readily. The manufacturing method according to the Patent Document 1 thus intends to form a better optical waveguide end surface by controlling the polishing action by the abrasive grains according to the depth of cutting of the substrate by the dicing blade 103.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-337757

Optical waveguide chip and method of manufacturing the same


Disclosed herein is a surface treatment agent for steel, characterized in that, said agent contains 0.1-15% by mass of chromium sulfate and 10-40% by mass of a binder resin containing butyral resin or a mixture of butyral resin with another resin which is compatible with butyral resin.

The present invention relates to a novel surface treatment agent for steel material and, more particularly, it relates to a surface treatment agent which is capable of forming a rust layer (hereinafter, referred to as weather resistant stable rust) in an early stage which has a protective action even to a severe atmospheric corrosion environment being affected by salt such as in coastal districts and also relates to steel material coated with said surface treatment agent.
It is generally possible to improve corrosion resistance of steel in air by adding elements such as phosphorus, copper, chromium and nickel thereto.
Such a low-alloy steel is called weather resistant steel and is the so-called maintenance-free steel where anticorrosive operation such as painting is not necessary since it forms a rust having a protective action to corrosion (hereinafter, referred to as weather resistant rust) within several years in outside.
However, over ten years are necessary for the formation of the weather resistant rust and, therefore, uncoherent rust or rust-laden water such as red rust or yellow rust is resulted during that period and there are disadvantages not only that it is an undesirable appearance but also it causes pollution of the surrounding environment. Especially in the environment where sea salt particles fly through the air, such a tendency is significant and, moreover, it is a problem that no weather resistant rust is formed.
With regard to said problem, there has been a proposal for a method of surface treatment for formation of phosphate coat as mentioned in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Hei-01/142,088.
In the proposal however, the treatment is complicated because of necessity of an appropriate pretreatment before formation of the phosphate coat and, in addition, it is not easy to conduct the treatment on a welded part when welding of steel material is necessary whereby there is another problem that said treatment is difficult to apply to building structures.
Further, it is still questionable whether the weather resistant rust is formed by this method under the severe atmospheric corrosive environment where salt flies through the air.
The present invention has been achieved under such a current status of art and an object of the present invention is to develop a surface treatment agent which is able to form a weather resistant stable rust on a steel material in early stage by applying to the surface or rust layer of the so-called rust-forming steel material such as normal steel or low alloy steel such as weather resistant steel and also to develop a steel material to which said surface treatment agent is applied.
In order to achieve the above object, the present inventors analyzed the stable rust which was produced by exposure for 20 years or more and have found that the resulting weather resistant stable rust comprises very tight aggregates of fine crystals consisting of xcex1xe2x80x94(Fe,Cr)OOH (hereinafter, referred to as chromium substituted goethite).
Therefore, for forming the weather resistant rust in an early stage and for suppressing the formation of uncoherent rust and rust-laden water, it is important to know how to promote the formation of the very tight chromium substituted goethite.
The present inventors have further found a specific means for solving the above-mentioned problems in which a treatment agent consisting of chromium sulfate and butyral resin is applied to the surface or the rust layer of steal material whereby the weather resistant stable rust can be formed in an early stage without generation of rust-laden water and the like.
The present invention has been accomplished based upon the above findings and its essential feature is as follows.
Thus, the present invention is a surface treatment agent for steel, characterized in that, said agent contains 0.1-15% by mass of chromium sulfate and 10-40% by mass of a binder resin containing butyral resin or a mixture of butyral resin with another resin which is compatible with butyral resin.
The present invention will be illustrated in detail as hereunder.
(1) Effect of Chromium Sulfate
When the structure of rust is tight, it is apt to physically shield the atmospheric corrosive environment and also reduces the dissolution of iron ion which is a fundamental cause of uncoherent rust and rust-laden water.
However, if there are cracks or pores in the rust, they act as a route for supplying water and oxygen and anticorrosive property of the rust is reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to form a very tight and continuous rust layer.
Chromium sulfate becomes chromium ion and sulfate ion arriving to the interface of coat and steel when water is permeated through the coat. Sulfate ion and water corrode steel and then produce iron ion. Chromium ion has an effect of converting the iron ion to chromium substituted goethite which is a main component of weather resistant stable rust.
In addition, it is believed that sulfate ion not only promotes the initial iron ion formation but also participates in making the stable rust layer fine and very tight.
In order to achieve such an effect even in a severe atmospheric corrosive environment such as where salt flies through the air, it is necessary to add 0.1-15% by mass of chromium sulfate to the treatment agent.
When the steel which is coated with the treatment agent being added with 0.1% by mass or more of it and has a dried coat on the surface is allowed to stand in an atmospheric corrosive environment, the weather resistant rust which is formed in early stage shows an effect of suppressing the permeation of corrosive anion.
The reason why the upper limit is set at 15% by mass is that, if it is not, the suppressing effect of the formed weather resistant stable rust to corrosive anion is reduced whereby the anticorrosive action under a severe corrosive environment cannot be guaranteed. The amount of chromium sulfate mentioned here is that to the solid part of the treatment agent excluding volatile matters such as solvents.
(2) Effect of Binder Resin
Examples of the binder resin used in the present invention are butyral resin and a mixture of butyral resin with another resin which is compatible with butyral resin (such as melamine resin and phenol resin).
When the amount of the binder resin in the treatment agent is less than 10% by mass, uniform coat is not obtained and, in addition, the resulting coat has no adhesive force and strength durable to furnishing.
On the other hand, when the amount of the binder resin is more than 40% by mass, amount of the water permeating into the coat becomes small and formation of weather resistant stable rust is markedly retarded.
Since butyral resin is very soft and flexible and adapts without difficulty to the changes in the shape of steel surface as a result of formation of rust, it is an essential component in the treatment agent of the present invention.
Incidentally, the treating agent is applied after making into liquid and it goes without saying that the agent may contain organic solvent necessary therefor.
In addition to chromium sulfate, the treatment agent of the present invention may contain other additives including coloring pigments such as iron oxide, titanium dioxide, carbon black and phthalocyanine blue; extenders such as talc, silica, mica, barium sulfate and calcium carbonate; anticorrosive pigments such as chromium oxide, zinc chromate, lead chromate and basic sulfate; thickeners; dispersing agents; and reaction promoters.
It goes without saying that viscosity of the treatment agent of the present invention upon use is adjusted to such an extent that it is suitable for the applying operation with organic solvent and said solvent evaporates by natural drying after being applied.
Moreover, phosphate or its aqueous solution may be added thereto and, in fact, that is rather convenient because the coexistence of phosphate and chromium ion has an effect of promoting the formation of chromium substituted goethite.
When the coat thickness after drying and solidification of the treatment agent mentioned hereinabove becomes 5-50 xcexcm, feeding of chromium ion and iron ion during the formation of weather resistant stable rust is well balanced and, therefore, that is a preferred thickness of the coat.
The treatment agent mentioned hereinabove can be applied by common methods like in the case of conventional application such as air spray, airless spray or application by brush and, therefore, the application is possible at any place.
In addition, the effect is achieved by mere one application and, therefore, this is economically satisfactory as well. Further, application at the site is possible and, therefore, the agent can be applied after the process of steel such as cutting and welding at the site or to the steel where the rust was already generated on the surface.
After the weather resistant stable rust is formed, the corrosion speed of the steel material becomes very low. Accordingly, it is also possible to further apply the colored coat on the upper layer and, as compared with the application of colored coat on unpainted steel having the surface such as blasting, it is also expected to extend the life of the colored coat.
With regard to the steel material to which the treatment agent of the present invention is applied, there is no particular limitation for the type of the steel but any of ordinary steel and low-alloy steel such as weather resistant steel may be used so far as it forms the so-called rust.
It goes without saying that, even if cracking or exfoliation is resulted due to the force from outside in the protective rust layer formed as such, chromium sulfate is supplied from the normal part to the damaged part provided that chromium sulfate remains in the coat of the normal part whereby the self-repairing property for re-forming the weather resistant stable rust can be expected.

c/o Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. 5-33, Kitahama 4-chome

c/o Shinto Paint Co., Ltd., 10-73, Minami-Tsukaguchicho 6-chome


A composition comprising a silicon-containing copolymer having a number-average molecular weight of 500 to 1,000,000, having SiO bond in the polymer and containing at least the structural units represented by the following general formulae (I) and (II) and, if necessary, one or more of the structural units represented by the following general formulae (III) to (VII) and a cross-linking agent is reacted at −20 to 100° C. for 1 to 3 hours. The resultant reaction composition is coated on a substrate and cured by heating to a temperature of 150° C. or above, for example, 250° C. to obtain a cured product of a silicon-containing copolymer which has a high heat resistance, a high light transmission, a low relative dielectric constant and a high chemical resistance and which has a strong mechanical strength and a good flexibility.

As to heat-resistant polymers, there have been studied fluorine-containing materials and aromatic or heterocyclic polymers such as polybenzimidazoles, aromatic polyamides and polyimides since synthesis of silicones by Rocho, et. al. Further, in recent years, with the development of technology in the space and aviation fields, demand for heat resistance has been increased, and the study has been advanced with respect to aromatic or heterocycyclic high polymers, with aromatic polyimides being under improvement. In addition to them, organometallic polymers having a main chain comprising metal element such as Si, Ti or B and O, N, etc. such as polyborosiloxane and polytitanosiloxane have been studied.
Also, in recent years, further improvement in heat resistance has been required with respect to heat-resistant and insulating materials to be used in various uses. For example, as one example of the heat-resistant and insulating materials, there is illustrated the field of high-pressure rotary machines such as generators, high-pressure alternating current motors, industrial direct current motors and motors for electric trains. These high-pressure rotary machines tend to come to be large-capacity-oriented and high-pressure-oriented and, at the same time, have been required to reduce size and acquire high heat resistance. Some of the heat-resistant and insulating materials in these fields are required to have a heat resistance of higher than 400° C. in the atmosphere and, at the same time, high insulating properties, high flexibility and high mechanical properties.
As other uses for the heat-resistant and insulating materials, there are illustrated various uses including an insulating or dielectric layer for displays such as PDP and LCD, an interlayer dielectric film for a thin film semiconductor device, materials for a semiconductor element such as Pre-Metal-Dielectric Layer (PMD) adapted for a 600° C. low-temperature process, front panels for displays, heat-resistant films, heat-resistant sheets or heat-resistant coatings for use in various uses, plastic optical fibers, heat-resistant and insulating threads, and electric wire coating. In these uses, some materials are required to have optical and electric properties such as transparency and dielectric properties in addition to the above-described heat resistance, flexibility and mechanical properties. Further, additional uses thereof in the field of ceramics composite materials, ceramic-metal adhesives, high-performance products with materials such as ceramic materials such as Al2O3 or MgO, or high-performance products obtained by blending with other polymer have been tried as well. However, as to organic polymers, heat-resistant polymers at present available have a practical heat-resistant temperature as low as 300° C. or less.
On the other hand, organometallic polymers such as silicone resins and polyborosiloxane resins have a high heat resistance as high as 500° C. or above due to thermal stability of the polymers. However, while the organic polymers have a molecular structure of a linear structure with less branching, the organometallic polymers have a network structure with more branching wherein a huge three-dimensional network structure is formed by dehydrogenation reaction or oxidation reaction between OH groups and, thus, they have such a poor flexibility that their uses have been limited.
In order to solve the defect with the organometallic polymers, it has been attempted to make a composite material between an organic resin and an inorganic material. For example, a block copoly-silazane composed of an inorganic polysilazane moiety and an organic polysilazane moiety has been proposed (for example, JP-A-2-175726). However, such composite polymer yet has a problem of, for example, insufficient mechanical properties, thus still not being satisfactory.
With such circumstances in mind, the inventor has formerly developed and proposed a highly heat-resistant, silicon-containing copolymer comprising silazane copolymer containing a specific repeating unit (JP-A-8-231727 and JP-A-9-188765). This silicon-containing copolymer is an organometallic polymer having a heat resistance of 400° C. or higher, an excellent mechanical properties and an excellent flexibility, which can be produced with ease and has the property of becoming transparent upon being cured in a nitrogen gas. Therefore, it is a useful material for highly heat-resistant optical use. However, when cured in the atmosphere, there results a colored polymer, thus there arises a problem that a film with a good transparency is difficult to obtain. Accordingly, the silicon-containing copolymer requires to be cured in a nitrogen gas in order to obtain a transparent cured polymer, which sometimes makes it difficult to apply the polymer to actual uses in view of process cost and mass production.
As a result of investigation, the inventor has formerly developed a silicon-containing copolymer which does not involve the problem of coloration upon curing by heating in the atmosphere, which has a heat resistance of 400° C. or higher, which has an excellent mechanical strength and an excellent flexibility, and which has a high transparency and a low relative dielectric constant, and filed an application on the polymer as Japanese Application No. 2001-99092 (JP-A-2002-293941, WO/02/081553). The silicon-containing copolymer proposed in this Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-99092 is transparent and has an excellent heat resistance and a low dielectric constant, and hence it might find application as flat panel displays (FDP) as well as conventional application to formation of heat-resistant films, hard coating films or insulating films. PDP having a baked film of the silicon-containing copolymer proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-99092 as a dielectric layer for covering a transparent electrode or an address electrode has been filed as Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-108593 (JP-A-2002-304949). However, the silicon-containing copolymer has a curing temperature of as high as about 400° C. In the case of using the cured silicon-containing copolymer as, for example, a material for various film-forming materials for LCD or PDP or a sealing material, the curing temperature is in many cases required to be 250° C. or lower in the process for producing LCD or PDP, thus the aforesaid polymer which requires curing at a temperature of 350° C. or higher not being usable in some cases. If the curing temperature of the polymer can be decreased to 250° C. or lower, it can find application to most of FPD uses such as LCD and PDP, thus serving to acquire an increased utility. Also, the polymer is required to be improved with respect to chemical resistance such as alkali resistance. Further, heat resistance, mechanical properties, flexibility, transparency and relative dielectric constant of the polymer are required to be more improved in comparison with those of conventional polymers. Also, materials which allow to form a coat having a more thickness by one coating are required. Further, in forming a dielectric layer or the like for PDP, a process of heating at a high temperature under a reduced pressure is unavoidable, and thus the silicon-containing copolymer proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-99092 is required to have a more improved durability against high-temperature heating under reduced pressure so that, when heated to a high temperature under reduced pressure, generation of, for example, no gases takes place.
An object of the invention is to provide a silicon-containing copolymer composition and a partially cross-linked, solvent-soluble, silicon-containing copolymer formed from the composition which solve the above-described problems, that is, which can be cured at a lower temperature, which possess a high transparency even when cured in the atmosphere, which have a heat resistance against heating to 400° C. or higher, particularly under reduced pressure, and which can form a film or a coat showing a high chemical resistance and a low relative dielectric constant.
Another object of the invention is to provide a partially cross-linked, silicon-containing copolymer which has the above-described properties and which allows to form a film or a coat having a more thickness by one coating and thus having an excellent mechanical strength and an excellent flexibility, and to provide a silicon-containing copolymer composition to be used for forming the partially cross-linked silicon-containing polymer.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method for curing the above-described composition or the above-described solvent-soluble, cross-linked, silicon-containing copolymer, to provide a film or a coat having an excellent heat resistance, an excellent chemical resistance, an excellent transparency and a low dielectric constant and to provide a display such as a plasma display panel (PDP) using a cross-linked, silicon-containing copolymer including such film or coat as a dielectric layer, a partition (rib layer) and/or a vacuum-sealing agent or a liquid crystal display (LCD) using these as an interlayer dielectric film/and or an oriented film, or a semiconductor device having the cross-linked, silicon-containing copolymer as a layer-constituting member.

Composition of silicon-containing copolymer, solvent-soluble crosslinked silicon-containing copolymer, and cured articles obtained therefrom

Abstract: wherein R1 to R6, R8 and R9 each independently represents an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, an aralkyl group, an alkylamino group, an alkylsilyl group or an alkoxy group, R7 represents a divalent group, R10 represents a divalent aromatic group, and A represents NH or O.


A system manages usage of a network-enabled user device. A policy storage is separately located relative to the user device and stores usage policy sets. Each policy set comprises policies defining usage permissions/restrictions applicable to the user device. The system associates a first user with a first time period and a second user with a second time period, each time period exclusive of other time periods. The first user selects/modifies a first policy set for applying during the first time period, and the second user selects/modifies a second policy set for applying during the second time period. The first user cannot select/modify any policy set applicable during the second time period, and the second user cannot select/modify any policy set applicable during the first time period. A usage request from the user device is allowed/denied based on the policy set to be applied when the usage request is made.

The proliferation of network enabled devices including smart phones, tablet computers and personal computing devices has revolutionised the way people communicate, shop, and consume media and entertainment. Whilst such devices provide many benefits to users, they also present challenges in that users are able to access material that may be considered inappropriate for them. In addition, users are able to use applications and features of the devices with little or no restriction and this may be undesirable, particularly for children.
It is known to restrict the availability of material on a network enabled device using "Internet filtering" techniques. Such Internet filtering techniques can be applied at a network level such that an Internet service provider or administrator of a local network incorporates a network filter applicable to all devices that access the network. Internet filtering may also take the form of a client filter that is applied at a device level through installation of software on the device.
Some device users, such as children, may come under the care of different guardians at different times. Different guardians may wish to allow different levels of usage of the devices during respective time periods.


2-Dodecyl-6-methoxycyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione (DMDD), as well as variants, derivatives, analogs, modifications, and conjugates thereof, are identified as therapeutic agents for treating or preventing human cancers and precancerous conditions. DMDD can be isolated from the root of Averrhoa carambola L., commonly known as starfruit. Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical compositions, as well as dietary supplements, are provided, as are methods of administration and treatment.

Human cancers are the most common cause of death in the world, and breast cancer has the highest mortality in women. It is estimated that 463,540 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the US in 2013 and 200,540 of those people died (American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & FIGS. 2014. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2014). Current therapeutic treatments for cancer usually cause serious side effects, such as bladder, kidney, lung, or heart damage. The development of effective drugs with fewer adverse side effects for the chemopreventive intervention of cancers is thus a top priority in cancer research.
Averrhoa carambola L. (family Oxalidaceae) is a perennial herb widely distributed in Southeast Asia. Its roots have been employed in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for thousands of years as a remedy for arthralgia and chronic paroxysmal headaches. A cyclohexanedione, 2-dodecyl-6-methoxycyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione (DMDD), was isolated from the roots of Averrhoa carambola L. and found to exhibit hypoglycemic and anti-lipid peroxidative effects in diabetic mice. Huang et al., Chin. Pharm. 2009, 12, 848-850; Huang et al., Lishizhen Med. Mater. Med. Res. 2009, 20, 2730-2731; Zheng et al., 2013, Toxicology letters, 219(1), 77-84.

2-dodecyl-6-methoxycyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione as a cancer therapeutic


A disc brake system comprising a brake piston with an annular groove defined in an outer side wall of said piston disposed to slide within a cylinder. A dust boot seal made of a flexible material having a first end and a second end, the first end engaging an outboard end of the cylinder, the second end engaging the annular groove. A plurality of flexible convolutions provided in the dust boot seal between the first and second ends, and the second end defining one or more slots.

This invention relates in general to vehicle disc brake assemblies and in particular to an improved dust boot seal adapted for use in such vehicle disc brake assemblies.
Most vehicles are equipped with a brake system for slowing or stopping movement of the vehicle in a controlled manner. A typical brake system for an automobile or light truck includes a disc brake assembly for each of the front wheels and either a drum brake assembly or a disc brake assembly for each of the rear wheels. The brake assemblies are actuated by hydraulic or pneumatic pressure generated when an operator of the vehicle depresses a brake pedal. The structures of these drum brake assemblies and disc brake assemblies, as well as the actuators therefore, are well known in the art.
A typical disc brake assembly includes a rotor, which is secured to the wheel of the vehicle for rotation therewith. A caliper assembly is supported on pins, which are secured to an anchor bracket. The anchor bracket is secured to a non-rotatable component of the vehicle, such as the vehicle frame. The caliper assembly includes a pair of brake shoes, located on opposite sides of the rotor. The brake shoes are operatively connected to one or more hydraulically actuated pistons for movement between a non-braking position, wherein they are spaced apart from opposed axial sides or braking surfaces of the rotor, and a braking position, wherein they are moved into frictional engagement with the braking surfaces of the rotor. When the operator of the vehicle depresses the brake pedal, the piston urges the brake shoes from the non-braking position to the braking position causing their frictional engagement with the opposed braking surfaces of the rotor, thereby slowing or stopping rotation of the associated wheel of the vehicle.
A typical disc brake assembly also includes a dust boot seal. The dust boot seal is formed from a flexible material and has a first end, which engages an outboard end of the cylinder. A second end of the dust boot seal engages an annular groove formed in an outer side wall of the piston. A plurality of flexible convolutions is provided in the dust boot seal between the first and second ends thereof. The dust boot seal is provided to prevent water, dirt, and other contaminants from entering into the recess between the cylinder and the piston.

Piston dust boot seal for disc brake assembly


A coil component is provided with a first magnetic substrate, a laminate body, and a second magnetic substrate. A coil is formed inside the laminate body. In the coil, a plurality of coil patterns provided on one surface of an insulation layer and a plurality of coil patterns provided on the other surface of the insulation layer are connected at multiple locations through vias. The coil patterns are configured in such a manner that a portion which is in contact with each via has a wider width widened with equal size from the center of a coil pattern to both sides thereof in the width direction, and a portion which is adjacent to the portion having the wider width across a gap has a narrower width(s) narrowed with equal size from the center of the coil pattern to both sides thereof in the width direction.

Conventionally, a wire-wound coil having a wire wound around a core made of ferrite or the like is generally used as a coil component such as a common-mode choke coil. However, since downsizing has become an important issue in the coil component, in recent years, a common-mode choke coil of a chip type, which is manufactured by using a thin-film formation technique or a ceramic multilayer technique, has been widely used.
For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-203737 discloses a common-mode choke coil of the chip type. FIG. 14 of Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-203737 illustrates a common-mode choke coil of the chip type in which a laminate body is formed on a first magnetic substrate by stacking an insulation layer (insulator layer) and coil patterns according to the thin-film formation technique, and thereafter, a second magnetic substrate is provided on the laminate body, and a first coil and a second coil each composed of spiral coil patterns are formed inside the laminate body.
If the common-mode choke coil is further downsized, the space for forming the coil becomes insufficient, and thus the coil has to be shortened in length, which reduces the inductance value thereof, making it difficult to ensure a high common-mode attenuation.
As a solution to the above problem, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 6 of Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 5-291044, an approach has been considered to increase the coil length by adopting such a coil that includes a first coil pattern layer composed of a plurality of conductors, an insulator layer and a second coil pattern layer composed of a plurality of conductors. The conductors of the first coil pattern layer and the conductors of the second coil pattern layer are electrically connected alternately through the intermediary of connection members provided in the insulator layer.
According to the above approach, in order to secure the connection between each conductor of the first coil pattern layer and each conductor of the second coil pattern layer, the cross-sectional area of a connecting portion for connecting the two is needed to be increased to some extent. However, since the line width of each conductor in the coil pattern layer will increase as long as the cross-sectional area of the connecting portion is increased, which decreases the inner diameter of the coil, and thereby the inductance value cannot be ensured, which makes the common-mode attenuation become smaller.
In addition, since all of the connecting portions for connecting the plurality of conductors respectively have the same area, the connecting portions located on the outer periphery of the coil are more susceptible to stress than the connecting portions located on the inner periphery of the coil. Thus, when the common-mode choke coil is subjected to an external thermal shock repeatedly, the connecting portions located on the outer periphery of the coil may disconnect away from each other, making it difficult to ensure the connection reliability.


A method for controlling an interrupt from a peripheral device to a processor, the peripheral device including at least an interrupt control unit, an interrupt request level holding unit, and an interrupt vector holding unit, which includes the steps of: a) updating the contents of the interrupt request level holding unit in accordance with commands in a software sent from an external device, for example, a subprocessor; b) updating the contents of the interrupt vector holding unit in accordance with commands in the software sent from the external device; c) reading an interrupt request level from the interrupt request level holding unit to the interrupt control unit; d) issuing the interrupt request level from the interrupt control unit to the processor when the peripheral device performs the interrupt operation; e) performing various processes and asserting the results of the signal processes from the processor to the peripheral device; f) reading an interrupt vector from the interrupt vector holding unit to the interrupt control unit, and setting a vector number to lower byte of data to assert data and a size acknowledgment; g) notifying the interrupt vector from the interrupt control unit to the processor; i) latching the vector number and negating address and data strobes in the processor; k) negating the data and the size acknowledge in the interrupt control unit; and l) starting the next cycle of the interrupt operation in said processor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interrupt control method for controlling an interrupt from a peripheral device, such as an input/out device, to a processor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a computer system formed of a processor and a plurality of peripheral devices, such as an input/output device, various interrupt control methods are known for executing a predetermined instruction after an interrupt is sent from a peripheral device to the processor. In general, the interrupt operation is started in accordance with the transmission of an interrupt request and an interrupt vector from the peripheral device to the processor, and executed based on an interrupt acknowledge by the processor.
Recently, since the performance of computers has generally increased, it is very important to realize effective interrupt operation in order to increase the throughput of a system.
In a conventional art, the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-271537 and No. 4-373056, have disclosed as two representative methods as explained below.
The former (JPP-63-271537) discloses an interrupt controller which can change the interrupt vector generated by a numerical operation processor. That is, in a computer system including a microprocessor and a numerical operation processor, interrupt vectors were previously fixed and only fixed interrupt vectors were sent from the numeral operation processor to the microprocessor. However, according to this citation, an interrupt controller is newly provided between the microprocessor and the numerical operation processor so that it is possible to change the interrupt vector from the numerical operation processor.
In this case, the citation discloses only a change in the interrupt vector from the numerical operation processor, and it does not disclose a change in the interrupt vector which is required in accordance with the change of the system structure.
The latter (JPP-4-373056) also discloses an interrupt controller which can change the priority order of interrupt requests from a peripheral device. That is, in a computer system including an interrupt controller and a plurality of peripheral devices, the priority order of the interrupt requests from peripheral devices was fixedly determined in a conventional system. However, in this citation, when the interrupt controller simultaneously receives a plurality of interrupt requests from the peripheral devices, the interrupt controller can change the priority order of the interrupt requests in accordance with the frequency of the individual interrupt requests.
In this case, the citation discloses only a change in the priority order of the interrupt requests from the peripheral devices, and does not disclose a change of interrupt request which is required in accordance with the change of the terms of use of the system or the condition of the system in use.

Interrupt control method for controlling an interrupt from a peripheral device to a processor


An axle boot for joint sealing, in particular on the drive train of motor vehicles, includes a substantially axisymmetric bellows, which is designed as a single piece with a connecting collar. The connecting collar has a plurality of indentations projecting towards the inside that are adapted to radial recesses in the external contour of the joint housing. To the outside of the connecting collar are attached compensating pieces that complete the external contour, forming a cylindrical circumferential surface on which a clamp is located.

The present invention relates to an axle boot for joint sealing, in particular on the drive train of motor vehicles, that includes a substantially axisymmetric bellows, which is designed as a single piece with a connecting collar, and compensating pieces attached to and distributed over the connecting collar for the purpose of adapting to an external contour of a joint housing, a contour that includes a plurality of radial recesses.
Axle boots of this type are typically used to seal off joints in the drive train of motor vehicles, joints whose joint housing has an external contour that includes a plurality of radial recesses. Since three radial recesses are usually provided on the circumference, the result is a three-lobe external contour that is also described as trilobe-shaped, which is at the same time the interface to the axle boot, which is usually fastened by clamps. The sealing of the joint area is necessary in order to keep dirt and moisture away from the joint and to preserve the grease filling in the joint.
For the purpose of adapting the connecting collar of the bellows on to the non-axisymmetric external contour of the joint housing, it is known in the case of axle boots manufactured from elastomers by the injection-molding method to provide enlargements in the connecting collar that act as compensating pieces and compensate for the radius differences of the external contour of the joint housing so that a circular clamp can be used for clamping purposes.
In this case, pronounced undercuts are formed on the inside at the transition from the connecting collar to the bellows. The elastomer material that is used makes easy demolding possible, in spite of these pronounced undercuts, since it has sufficient reversible extensibility. This manufacturing method, however, is no longer possible if the axle boot is to be manufactured from a thermoplastic copolyester (TPE). A molding having such pronounced undercuts would be destroyed during demolding since it does not withstand the necessary extensions. In addition, the formation of great wall thickness differences in thermoplastic moldings requires long cooling times in the mold and results in sink marks or the formation of voids.
In order to avoid these difficulties, the connecting collar for a known axle boot (European Patent Application EP 0 924 450 A2) is cylindrical in design. An annular insert that is surrounded by the connecting collar is provided for the purpose of adapting to the joint housing's external contour, which is provided with radial recesses. This insert has a plurality of projections that protrude into the inside and fit into the radial recesses of the joint housing. The axle boot can be manufactured relatively easily because the connecting collar, in particular, has a constant wall thickness and no undercuts are formed that would be a hindrance during demolding. Disadvantageous, however, is the fact that the bellows or at least its connecting collar must be reheated in a second manufacturing step in order to create the bond with the insert. This has a disadvantageous effect on strength and geometry due to molecule rearrangement. In addition, there is another joint between the connecting collar and the insert that has no useful function but must also be designed so that it seals.
That type of joint is avoided in an axle boot described in European Patent Application EP 0 915 264 A2, through the formation, in a single piece, of compensating pieces on the inside of the connecting collar that fit into the radial recesses in the joint housing. The known axle boot is manufactured in a combined injection blow molding process that makes an automated manufacturing run possible. The compensating pieces must be reinforced by radial webs in order to transfer the clamping force for the purpose of connecting the axle boot to the joint housing. The necessary optimization of wall thickness distribution makes any changes in the compensating pieces complicated and expensive because the injection-molding mold has to be changed for this purpose.


A suction pad comprises a workpiece attracting section made of a metallic material and brought to contact with a surface of a workpiece; a main body made of a flexible material and integrally coupled to the workpiece attracting section; an adapter made of a metallic material and attached to the main body; and a spring member made of a metallic material with one end thereof connected to the workpiece attracting section and the other end thereof connected to the adapter. A rotation-stop and guide mechanism for a suction pad comprises a spline shaft having splines and coupled to the suction pad, a cylindrical member externally fitted to the spline shaft and displaceable along the spline shaft, and a plurality of balls arranged between the cylindrical member and the spline shaft, the balls forming a rotation-stop in cooperation with the splines that stops the rotation of the cylindrical member against the spline shaft, rolling upon displacement of the cylindrical member along the spline shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suction pad suitable for attracting and conveying electronic components such as semiconductor devices for which it is necessary to avoid generation of static electricity, and to a rotation-stop and guide mechanism for a suction pad, with which the suction pad may be precisely guided to a workpiece to attract it, and while conveying the workpiece, rotation of the suction pad may be stopped to enable highly accurate positioning of the workpiece.
2. Description of the Related Art
A suction pad coupled with a vacuum source has been hitherto employed for conveying workpieces such as semiconductor devices. A suction pad is typically formed of electrically conductive rubber such as conductive NBR, conductive silicone rubber or the like.
A suction pad made of conductive rubber described has an inconvenience that when attracting a semiconductor device or the like, or when releasing it at a desired position, the surface of the semiconductor device subjected to attractive contact with the suction pad tends to bear static electricity due to friction, which possibly impairs the performance of the device.
Thus, a suction pad in which static electricity is prevented from generation on the surface of an attracted semiconductor device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 4-82685.
As shown in FIG. 1, the suction pad 1 of the aforementioned laid-open patent has a metallic pad 2 fitted around a suction cup 3 made of conductive nitrile rubber which in turn is fixed to a metallic fixture 4. A gap G is provided between the leading end of the suction cup 3 and the surface of the electronic device 5 to be attracted, not to allow a direct contact therebetween.
With this arrangement, static electricity, that generated by friction between the metallic pad 2 and the device 5, and that borne in advance on the device 5, is discharged through the metallic pad 2, the suction cup 3 of nitrile rubber and the metallic fixture 4. However, the conductive nitrile rubber has a relatively high electrical resistance compared to metal, it is difficult to completely discharge the static electricity from the electronic device 5.
An all metal suction pad, as an alternative for the suction pad 1 shown in FIG. 1 for ease of discharging the static electricity, would suffer attraction failure, since such a suction pad lacks flexibility and makes a solid contact with the surface of the device 5. On the other hand, too fast discharge of the static electricity may damage the electronic device, depending on the type.
In an assembly line, an electronic device such as an IC chip laid in a pallet is attracted and transferred by a suction pad, to have the terminals of the IC chip inserted into predetermined holes of a board placed on the line so as to be electrically connected.
In conveying the IC chip in such a manner, there arises another inconvenience in which the suction pad is rotated to impact, vibration or other forces transmitted through a robot arm, or twist of a connection tube between a vacuum source and the suction pad produced from the movement of the robot arm. This makes it difficult to effect proper insertion of the IC chip terminals into the board holes, especially in a recent technical situation where high density surface mounting is required with IC chips becoming smaller and smaller. Small terminal distances of IC chips require highly accurate positioning of the IC chips on the board.
To attract and transfer a workpiece having an inclined surface, a suction pad associated with a bellows skirt as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A has been hitherto employed. The bellows skirt 10 is usually made of electrically conductive rubber. When the skirted suction pad 6 attracts the workpiece 17, the bellows skirt 10 contracts as shown in FIG. 3B, which, after releasing the workpiece 17, normally re-assumes the original bellows shape shown in FIG. 3A.
However, sometimes, the skirt 10 fails to restore the original bellows shape, after releasing the workpiece 17, due to stickiness of the rubber material of the bellows, as shown in FIG. 3C. The restoration failure of the skirt 10 greatly impairs the adaptability of the skirt 10 to workpiece shapes, and the attracting capability of the suction pad 6.
Thus, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a suction pad has been devised in which one outer wall surface of bellows is provided with a plurality of ribs 18a-18f protruding outwardly. The ribs 18a-18f prevent the bellows surfaces from sticking to each other. However, it has been experienced that a suction pad of this type has a tendency of being readily worn out at the outer wall surface of bellows to which the ribs contact repeatedly. Therefore, the problem of restoration failure in the skirted suction pad has not yet been finally solved.

Suction pad, rotation-stop and guide mechanism for the same


The present invention provides anti-CD20 antibody fragments for use as in vivo imaging probes and as therapeutic moieties for the diagnosis and treatment of NHL.

The majority of non-Hodgkins lymphomas (NHLs) are of B-cell origin and over 90% express the leukocyte antigen CD20. The chimeric anti-CD20 antibody C2B8 (Rituximab; RITUXAN®, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, Calif.; Genentech, San Francisco, Calif.) has been extensively evaluated in patients with recurrent B-cell lymphomas and its efficacy has been proven in several clinical trials. The mechanism of action in vivo is still not clear and multiple hypotheses have been generated i.e. induction of apoptosis, antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), phagocytosis, complement mediated cell-lysis (CML) and cross-priming of CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells. The efficacy of anti-CD20 antibodies has been further enhanced by radiolabeling with therapeutic isotopes such as 131I (tositumomab and Iodine I 131 tositumomab; BEXXAR®) and 90Y (ibritumomab tiuxetan; ZEVALIN®).
We have previously generated engineered antibody fragments including diabodies (dimers of single-chain Fv; scFv; 55 kDa), minibodies (dimers of scFv-CH3; 80 kDa) and scFv-Fc DM (dimer of single-chain Fv-Fc, 105 kDa) with pharmacokinetics optimized for imaging in vivo. MicroPET imaging using I-124- or Cu-64-labeled fragments targeting both carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and IIER2 demonstrate rapid, high level tumor targeting and fast blood clearance in mice carrying human colon carcinoma or breast carcinoma xenografts have resulted in high contrast, antigen-specific images. Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, (2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose) ([F-18]-FDG tracer) is currently standard for clinical PET imaging, but for lymphomas utility can be limited in cases of indolent disease with low metabolic activity. An imaging agent directed against a cell-surface target could provide complementary information.
Here, we describe the generation of anti-CD20 rituximab minibody that demonstrates rapid, specific localization to CD20 expressing tumors in a murine model, and are promising as imaging agents for detection of indolent NHLs. Anti-CD20 antibody fragments are useful for in vivo imaging and therapy for CD20 expressing cancers such as NHL, as well as for other CD20 targeted therapies, such as those used to treat autoimmune disease (RA, SLE, Sjogren syndrome, cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia) and graft vs. host disease.

Engineered anti-CD20 antibody fragments for in vivo targeting and therapeutics

The Regents of the University of California


An electroacoustic transducer serving as a speaker or a microphone is reduced in size and weight and is capable of generating sound with relatively high sound pressure. It is constituted of a housing having a cavity having an opening in the exterior, a fixed electrode positioned opposite to the opening of the housing, a diaphragm having an electrode positioned between the opening and the fixed electrode, and an elastic deformation portion for supporting the diaphragm with respect to the housing and for allowing the diaphragm to vibrate in the thickness direction. The fixed electrode is electrically insulated from the electrode of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is distanced from the fixed electrode by means of the elastic deformation portion placed in the balanced state. When the elastic deformation portion is subjected to elastic deformation, the diaphragm vibrates with relatively large amplitude such that it comes in contact with the fixed electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electroacoustic transducers such as speakers and microphones.
This application claims priority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-222382, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, it is required that electroacoustic transducers such as speakers and microphones be reduced in size and weight. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0044029 teaches an example of an electroacoustic transducer adapted to MEMS technology. This kind of electroacoustic transducer is formed using a fixed electrode (having a planar shape) and a diaphragm electrode, wherein the peripheral portions of the fixed electrode and diaphragm electrode are fixed to a ring-shaped housing and are thus positioned opposite to each other with a spacing therebetween, and wherein the fixed electrode and diaphragm electrode are arranged inside of the housing.
When the electroacoustic transducer having the aforementioned constitution serves as a speaker, the diaphragm electrode vibrates due to elastic deformation in response to a certain voltage being applied between the fixed electrode and the diaphragm electrode.
Since the peripheral portion of the diaphragm electrode is fixed in the aforementioned electroacoustic transducer, it is very difficult to produce adequate amplitude when the electroacoustic transducer serves as a speaker; hence, it is very difficult to produce sound having high sound pressure.


A spinal orthosis has an elongate and substantially rigid spinal frame having upper, middle and lower portions, and a lumbar assembly connected to the lower portion of the spinal frame. A strap assembly secures to an upper portion of the spinal frame and is adjustably secured to the lumbar assembly. An elastic strap has a first end secured to the spinal frame and a second end adjustably securing to the lumbar assembly.

Many osteoporosis related fractures occur in the wrist, spine, or hip. Bones become weak due to osteoporosis and require support when healing from a fracture. The incidence of these fractures caused by osteoporosis, particularly vertebral, is rapidly rising with aging in both sexes.
Regarding spinal or vertebral osteoporosis, it is believed that a fourth of women 50 years of age in the general population have one or more vertebral fractures resulting in loss of height and increased kyphosis. Kyphotic postural change is the most physically disfiguring and psychologically damaging effect of osteoporosis and can contribute to an increase in vertebral fractures and risk of falling. Spinal osteoporosis may be associated with reduced pulmonary function, chronic pain, limitations in everyday life, and emotional problems related to appearance.
Therapeutic interventions with proven efficacy include alendronate, risedronate, and raloxifene, which improve bone quality. These therapeutics, however, only prevent approximately 50% of spinal fractures. There is a need to improve back muscle strength because muscle atrophy parallels the decline of bone mineral density of the spine and contributes significantly to kyphotic postural changes. The multi-disciplinary rehabilitation concept of spinal osteoporosis includes back-strengthening exercises to counteract thoracic kyphosis in hyperkyphotic subjects
Using a spinal orthosis can increase trunk muscle strength and improve posture in individuals with vertebral fractures caused by osteoporosis. Wearing a spinal orthosis can lead to a better quality-of-life by pain reduction, decreased limitations of daily living, and an improvement of well-being. Use of an orthosis may represent an efficacious nonpharmacologic treatment option for spinal osteoporosis. Indications for a spinal orthosis include osteoporosis inclusive of acute and chronic pain due to osteoporosis, hyperkyphosis, compression fracture, pain relieved by thoracic extension, spinal stenosis, post-operative support, and vertebral collapse
Traditionally, spinal orthoses have been used in the management of thoracolumbar injuries treated with or without surgical stabilization. The vast majority of orthoses, however, are used in individuals with low back pain. In the United States alone, nearly 250,000 corsets are prescribed each year.
The orthotic treatment modality in the management of vertebral fractures caused by osteoporosis revolves around keeping the spinal column extended to relieve the pressure on the anterior side of the vertebrae, which is the most common area of fracture. This can be done through compression of the lumbar spine with a corset having an anterior panel for intracavitary compression, a posterior panel that extends over the shoulders and auxiliary straps that come across the chest to pull the upper back into extension. There are challenges with these designs in that they are found to be bulky and difficult to don and doff, and often fail to provide the correct tension. It is perceived by many that long term immobilization of such devices can have a negative effect on back extensor strength essential to long term outcomes for such individuals.
Orthoses may be used for treating various spinal deformities, including scoliotic and kyphotic deformities. Scoliosis occurs when there is lateral curvature of the spine above a certain degree. Lateral curvature is typically associated with vertebral rotation within the curve in which three-dimensional deformity results.
Many types of orthoses exist for treating scoliosis. Many of these orthoses are arranged to create a foundation by grasping a pelvis and include a metal suprastructure over the torso to create a rigid framework upon which a series of inelastic straps and pads are arranged to provide corrective force to the spinal deformity. A goal behind the braces is to apply corrective forces at the deformity in a manner to allow the torso and spine to shift in a normal position.


An object of this invention is to provide a photoelectric conversion device which can always appropriately perform charge accumulation independently of the luminance levels of objects, can read out an image signal by effectively using the dynamic range, can attain accurate auto-focus, and can realize them at low cost without increasing the circuit scale. In order to achieve this object, a memory is provided for each photoelectric conversion element, and a controller controls charge accumulation of the photoelectric conversion element on the basis of control information read out from the memory.

The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion device applied to photographing equipment such as a still camera, video camera, and the like, various observation apparatuses, and the like, its control method, a focus detection device, and a storage medium which computer-readably stores processing steps of implementing the control method of the photoelectric conversion device and focus detection device.
Conventionally, various types of so-called auto-focus (AF) cameras, which detect the focus state of an object, and automatically focus on the object by changing the moving distance of the photographing lens in correspondence with the detected focus state, have been proposed.
Such AF cameras and the like use the method of detecting the focus state by, e.g., forming an object image on a photoelectric conversion element (to be referred to as a sensor hereinafter) formed by a plurality of photoelectric conversion pixels (to be simply referred to as pixels hereinafter), and performing predetermined arithmetic processing for a plurality of pixel signals output from the sensor.
In this method, in order to accurately detect the focus states of objects having various luminance levels (e.g., from a high-luminance object to low-luminance one), the amplification factor (to be referred to as a gain hereinafter) upon reading signals, and the charge accumulation time of the sensor must be appropriately controlled.
This is because if the level of an image signal of an object formed by a plurality of pixel signals (to be referred to as a video signal hereinafter) is too high, it exceeds the dynamic range of a pixel signal that can be processed by the apparatus, and the video signal becomes different from an actual one, thus impairing precision. By contrast, if the level of the video signal is too low, noise components increase relatively, and may impair precision.
FIG. 8 shows a photoelectric converter 500 which controls the read gain of pixel signals and the charge accumulation time in a sensor 54.
This photoelectric converter 500 comprises a sensor 54 constructed by a plurality of pixels, a peak detection circuit 53 for detecting and outputting a maximum accumulated charge amount during charge accumulation on the sensor 54, a memory 52 for receiving and holding pixel signals upon completion of charge accumulation on the sensor 54, a counter 55, a level output circuit 56 for outputting a level value selected from a plurality of level values in accordance with the count value of the counter 55, a comparator 57 for comparing the outputs from the level output circuit 56 and peak detection circuit 53, and outputting the comparison result, and a read amplifier 58 for outputting the pixel signals held in the memory 52 with the gain corresponding to the count value of the counter 55.
Note that the respective units of the photoelectric converter 500 are controlled by a controller 51, which especially controls charge accumulation on the sensor 54.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the controller 51 outputs a reset signal rst to the sensor 54 and counter 55 (step S501).
In response to this signal, charges on all the pixels of the sensor 54 are initialized, and the counter 55 is reset to an initial value "0" (count=0).
After that, charge accumulation on the sensor 54 is actually started.
Subsequently, the controller 51 sets its internal timer at an initial value "0" (timer=0), thus starting time measurement of the charge accumulation (step S502).
The controller 51 checks if the timer value timer of the internal timer has exceeded a maximum accumulation time Etime (step S503).
If "timer≧Etime", the controller 51 determines the end of charge accumulation, and outputs a signal trans indicating this to the sensor 54. In response to this signal, charges accumulated on the individual pixels of the sensor 54 are transferred as pixel signals to the memory 52, thus ending charge accumulation on the sensor 54 (step S508).
On the other hand, if "timer<Etime" in step S503, the controller 51 checks if an output signal comp from the comparator 57 is "1", i.e., if an output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 is larger than an output signal p_out of the peak detection circuit 53 (step S504).
If "comp≠1", the flow returns to step S503 to repeat the subsequent processing steps.
Note that the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 will be described in detail later.
If "comp=1" in step S504, the controller 51 checks if the internal timer value timer has exceeded an intermediate accumulation time Htime (step S505).
As a result of checking, if "timer≧Htime", the flow advances to step S508, thus ending charge accumulation on the sensor 54.
However, if "timer<Htime" in step S505, the controller 51 checks if the count value count of the counter 55 is "3" (step S506).
If "count=3", the flow advances to step S508, thus ending charge accumulation on the sensor 54.
On the other hand, if "count≠3" in step S506, the controller 51 outputs a signal up_c to the counter 55. In response to this signal, the count value count of the counter 55 is counted up (step S507).
After that, the flow returns to step S503 to repeat the subsequent processing steps.
Charge accumulation control of the sensor 54 is done in this way, and the read of pixel signals held in the memory 52 after completion of charge accumulation is controlled by a signal shift output from the controller 51.
With this control, pixel signals s_out read out from the memory 52 are multiplied by the gain by the read amplifier 58, and are output from an output terminal Vout.
At this time, the read amplifier 58 multiplies the pixel signals s_out from the memory 52 by the gain in accordance with the count value count of the counter 55.
The charge accumulation time of the sensor 54 is controlled by switching the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56.
The charge accumulation time and the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B.
In the following description, assume that the level output circuit 56 has four level values "level1.0" to "level1.3", and selectively outputs one of these level values in accordance with the count value count of the counter 55.
In FIGS. 10A and 10B, the abscissa plots the charge accumulation time, and the ordinate plots the values of the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 and the output signal p_out of the peak detection circuit 53.
FIG. 10A shows a case wherein the object is relatively bright, and the peak output of each pixel signal, i.e., the output signal p_out of the peak detection circuit 53 rises quickly. FIG. 10B shows, contrary to FIG. 10A, a case wherein the object is relatively dark, and the peak output of each pixel signal rises slowly.
(Case of FIG. 10A)
When charge accumulation is started, since the count value count of the counter 55 is initialized (step S501), the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 changes to "level1.0".
When the charge accumulation time (timer value timer of the internal timer) has reached "A-1", the output signal p_out of the peak detection circuit 53 exceeds the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56. As a result, when the output signal comp of the comparator becomes "1", the count value count of the counter 55 is counted up (steps S503 to S507). Since the counted-up count value count is supplied to the level output circuit 56, the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 changes to "level1.1".
Similarly, when the charge accumulation time has reached "A-2", the count value count of the counter 55 is counted up, and the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 changes to "level1.2".
Also, when the charge accumulation time has reached "A-3", the count value count of the counter 55 is counted up, and the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 changes to "level1.3".
When the charge accumulation time has reached "A-4", since the count value count of the counter 55 is "3", charge accumulation on the sensor 54 ends (the flow advances to step S508 as a result of checking in step S506).
(Case of FIG. 10B)
When the charge accumulation time has reached "B-1" and "B-2", the count value count of the counter 55 is counted up, and the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 changes from "level1.0" to "level1.1" and from "level1.1" to "level1.2", in the same manner as in "A-1" to "A-3" mentioned above.
When the charge accumulation time has reached "B-3", if it has exceeded the intermediate accumulation time due to the slowly rising output signal p_out of the peak detection circuit 53, charge accumulation on the sensor 54 ends (the flow advances to step S508 as a result of checking in step S506).
In this way, by switching the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 among four levels, the charge accumulation time is controlled in correspondence with the object condition, e.g., so that a sufficiently long charge accumulation time is assured when the object is light, or the charge accumulation time is prevented from becoming excessively long when the object is dark.
The gain of the read amplifier 58 is controlled in accordance with the count value count of the counter 55, and as a consequence, since the gain of the read amplifier 58 is controlled in accordance with the peak output (p_out) of each pixel signal, pixel signals can always be read out while effectively using the dynamic range of pixel signals that can be processed by the apparatus.
However, when the aforementioned conventional photoelectric converter 500 is applied to a multi-point AF camera which can effect the AF function at a plurality of distance measurement points, the arrangement including the comparator 57 and the like shown in FIG. 8 must be provided for each of all the distance measurement points. As a result, the circuit scale becomes huge, and the area of an IC chip increases.
In order to solve such problem, a method of dividing a single sensor into regions in units of distance measurement points, and controlling the charge accumulation time by a single controller while sequentially scanning the respective regions is proposed.
With this method, multi-point AF can be realized by a reasonable chip size while suppressing an increase in IC chip area.
However, in this method, when a pixel signal is read out from each region and is then compared to control the charge accumulation time of the region (sensor) of each distance measurement point, it is intermittently checked for a certain region during charge accumulation if charge accumulation is to end.
When such method is used in the photoelectric converter 500 shown in FIG. 8, since the output signal c_level of the level output circuit 56 is "level1.0" immediately after the beginning of charge accumulation, the count value count of the counter 55 becomes "3" for a high-luminance object which makes the output signal p_out of the peak detection circuit 53 rise rapidly, and charge accumulation ends. For this reason, much time is required, and the charge accumulation time cannot be appropriately controlled. As a result, since the level of the video signal of an object exceeds the dynamic range, the obtained image may be distorted. Also, in recent AF cameras, since the number of points for detecting the focus state (to be referred to as distance measurement points hereinafter) in the frame gradually is increasing like 3, 4, 5, . . . , the photographer need not change framing upon photographing after he or she sets a principal object in the frame at each distance measurement point and then focuses on the principal object, thus improving operability.
In order to further improve operability, the number of distance measurement points is preferably increased.
On the other hand, the focus state at each distance measurement point is detected by forming an object image on a photoelectric conversion device (to be referred to as a sensor hereinafter) formed by a plurality of pixels, and arithmetically processing pixel signals output from the sensor. In such case, more accurate focus detection can be attained with increasing level of an image signal defined by the pixel signals. However, when the level of the image signal is too high and exceeds the dynamic range that can process pixel signals, the image signal becomes different from an actual one, thus impairing precision.
Hence, it is a common practice to use an accumulation sensor, and to appropriately control its accumulation time.
When there are a plurality of distance measurement points, the accumulation time of a region corresponding to each distance measurement point is independently controlled. A circuit for appropriately controlling the accumulation time has a large scale, and when the number of distance measurement points is increased, the circuit scale of the sensor including a control circuit is huge. To prevent such problem, the present applicant has proposed a method of controlling the accumulation time using a single controller while dividing a photoelectric conversion element into regions in units of distance measurement points, and sequentially scanning the regions.
However, with this method, since scanning is done all the time during accumulation, many noise components are produced, thus impairing precision. Also, the consumption currents increase, thus wasting energy.
This problem can be solved by slow scanning. However, upon focus detection for a high-luminance object image, the image signal may exceed the dynamic range while scanning in units of regions, and precision may be impaired. Hence, it is hard to attain a small circuit scale and accurate focus detection at the same time.

Photoelectric conversion device, focus detection device, method of controlling these devices, and storage medium


An ultrasonic motor comprises a rotor and a stator between which a pressurized face-to-face contact is established. The stator includes a longitudinal vibrator for producing a longitudinal thrust in the axial direction thereof and a torsional vibrator for transmitting a torsional thrust to the rotor in response to a longitudinal thrust timely generated by the longitudinal vibrator. The stator is supported by a structure which comprises a ring portion secured to the stator and a plurality of limb portions radially extending from the ring portion. Each of the limb portions has such an effective length and a width that the oscillation frequency of the motor matches the primary resonant frequency of a vibration of the limb portion generated on a plane normal to the axial direction of the stator and has such a thickness that the oscillation frequency matches an intermediate point between adjacent antiresonant frequencies of a vibration of the limb portion generated in the axial direction of the stator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ultrasonic motors, and more specifically to an ultrasonic motor of the type wherein longitudinal and torsional vibrations are combined to produce a standing wave pattern that gives a rotational drive of high torque.
2. Description of the Related Art
As illustrated in FIG. 1A, a conventional ultrasonic motor of the longitudinal-torsional composite resonator type comprises a stator 10 for providing torsional and longitudinal vibrations and a rotor 11 driven by the stator in a direction determined by the timing of an instantaneous longitudinal distortion occurring with respect to torsional distortions of a predetermined direction. If the stator is given an upward thrust at the same time it is given a clockwise distortion, the torsional thrust is transmitted to the rotor, giving it a clockwise rotation. A ring-shaped, planar support member 12 is secured between the torsional and longitudinal vibrators of the stator 10. Support member 12 is formed with screw holes 13 (FIG. 1B) to mount the motor on a stationary body 14 using screws 15. Because of the high stiffness of the support member 12 on a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the stator, the torsional vibration of the stator is undesirably constrained in terms of operating efficiency. If the thickness of the support member 12 is thinner than a certain value, it no longer acts as a constraint on the longitudinal vibration of the stator. However, if one of the antiresonant frequencies of the bending vibration of the support member 12 in the direction of its thickness matches the frequency of the stator's longitudinal vibration, it would not only act as a constraint on the torsional vibration but on the longitudinal vibration. The efficiency of an ultrasonic motor with a diameter of 15 mm using the conventional support structure is below 15%.

Longitudinal-torsional resonance ultrasonic motor with improved support structure