An oxygen sensor element has a cup-type solid electrolyte body defining an air chamber therein, and a plate-like lamination-type ceramic heater is disposed in the air chamber with a front end portion contacting the bottom portion of the air chamber. Accordingly, the lamination type ceramic heater is prevented form being swung and hit against the electrolyte body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oxygen sensor element that holds a lamination type ceramic heater, which is applied to an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine to control an air fuel ratio of the engine.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, an air fuel ratio sensor is installed in an exhaust system of an automotive engine to detect an air fuel ratio, and the combustion of the engine is controlled based on the detected air fuel ratio. An oxygen sensor containing an oxygen sensor element is widely employed as the air fuel ratio sensor.
The oxygen sensor element is composed of a cup-like solid electrolyte body having oxygen ion conductivity and defining an air chamber therein, an outer electrode disposed on an outer surface of the solid electrolyte body, and an inner electrode disposed on an inner surface of the solid electrolyte body. The inner surface of the solid electrolyte body is exposed to the air chamber. Further, a ceramic heater is disposed in the air chamber to heat the oxygen sensor element to an activation temperature. A pole-like ceramic heater is typically employed as the ceramic heater.
In recent years, to reduce manufacturing cost, a plate-like lamination type ceramic heater has been suggested as a replacement for the pole-like ceramic heater. For example, JP-A-7-35723, JP-B2-5-2101, and WO 94/14057 disclose this kind of ceramic heater. The lamination type ceramic heater is composed of a plurality of laminated heater substrates, one of which has a heater layer for developing heat, and a lead layer for supplying electricity to the heater layer.
However, the mechanical strength of the lamination type ceramic heater is smaller than that of the pole-like ceramic heater. As mentioned above, the ceramic heater is disposed within the air chamber of the oxygen sensor element. Within the air chamber, the ceramic heater may be swung like a pendulum into contact with the solid electrolyte body due to impact, vibrations, and the like applied externally to the oxygen sensor element. In such a case, the lamination type ceramic heater is easily damaged. The damage to the ceramic heater can involve not only the heater substrates but the heater and lead layers to cause electrical disconnection. In addition, the heater and lead layers can be oxidized by air coming through the damaged portion, resulting in an increase in resistance of the heater and lead layers.

Oxygen sensor element holding lamination type ceramic heater


This method for detecting a poor module-mounting-state in a concentrator photovoltaic apparatus includes: photographing a surface of an array by an imaging device; obtaining an image in which a virtual image, magnified through a condenser lens, of a light receiving portion including a cell and a vicinity thereof is formed, and a collection of pixels of the virtual image forms a composite virtual image of an entirety of the light receiving portion, the composite virtual image being projected over a plurality of modules; and detecting a poor module-mounting-state based on a form of the composite virtual image.

A concentrator photovoltaic apparatus has, as a minimum unit, a basic configuration of an optical system in which sunlight is collected by a condenser lens to be incident on a small cell for power generation. The basic configurations are arranged into a matrix shape in a housing, to form a module, and further, a large number of the modules are arranged to form an array (panel), whereby one concentrator photovoltaic apparatus is obtained. In order to track the sun, a tracking mount on which an array is mounted is supported by a post such that biaxial drive in the azimuth and the elevation is allowed (see PATENT LITERATURE 1, for example).

Method for detecting poor mounting state of module, and array


A dental suction device includes a hollow tube having both flexibility and shape retainability. The tube has its both ends connected to a connector and is formed with suction holes. The connector can be connected to a vacuum source. A suction force produced by the vacuum source can thus be applied to the suction holes of the tube through a passage formed in the connector. The connector includes a valve for adjusting the degree of opening of the passage formed in the connector and thus the suction force applied to the suction holes. The valve includes a valve body mounted in the connector and a manual lever for controlling the valve body.

This invention relates to a suction device for use in dental treatment and which can reliably suck saliva, blood and liquid drugs in the mouth of a patient during dental treatment and can simultaneously control the temperature and humidity in the mouth.
A conventional such suction device has a nozzle at the tip of a suction pipe. The nozzle is inserted into the mouth of a patient to suck up saliva and blood in the mouth through the nozzle. In order to effectively suck saliva and blood, the nozzle has to be moved sufficiently close to the area where the treatment is being carried out. It is difficult for one person to carry out such a delicate operation during dental treatment.
Thus, instead of the dentist, an assistant operates the suction device while the dentist is performing dental treatment. But in such a case, the assistant has to keep the nozzle of the suction device sufficiently apart from the area being treated in the mouth so as not to interfere with the dental treatment performed by the dentist. Therefore, no sufficient suction force can be applied to the area being treated.
When using a dental adhesive in the mouth of a patient, it is necessary to keep the temperature and humidity in the mouth sufficiently low in order to obtain sufficiently high bond strength. But the temperature in the mouth is usually as high as the body temperature and the humidity in the mouth is nearly 100%. Thus, in order for a dental adhesive to show sufficient bond strength in the mouth, it is necessary to lower the temperature and humidity in an area where the adhesive is used by sucking air in this area. But as described above, it was difficult to apply sufficient suction force to the area where dental treatment is being performed.
In (unexamined) JP patent publications 7-204215 and 11-28219, we proposed a dental suction device comprising a hollow tube having flexibility and shape retainability and formed with suction holes, and a connector having a vacuum port which can be connected to a vacuum source and connected to one or both ends of the tube.
Because the tube is flexible and has shape retainability, it can be positioned in the mouth so that the suction holes are located close to a tooth to be treated. Once set in position in the mouth, it is not necessary to keep holding the tube with a hand. Thus, sufficient suction force can be applied to a desired area in the mouth.
But this suction device has no means for adjusting the suction force in a delicate manner. Particularly, it is possible only to turn on or off the vacuum source. Thus, it was impossible to adjust the temperature and humidity in the mouth freely to any desired level.
For example, it was impossible to increase the temperature in the mouth to a level at which the efficacy of drugs such as hypochlorite, phosphate or ETDA is the highest when they are applied to teeth, gum or mucous membranes.
Cements are used to bond crowns, inlays and bridges to teeth. These dental cements harden more quickly at elevated temperatures. Thus, if it takes a long time for treatment, the dentist may desire to delay the hardening of a cement. When the treatment has finished, the dentist will now desire to harden the cement as quickly as possible. But this is of course impossible with conventional dental suction devices as disclosed in the abovementioned publications because the suction force cannot be controlled at all.
An object of the present invention is to provide a dental suction device of the above-described type having means which enables a dental practitioner to delicately control the suction force produced in the flexible, hollow tube so that he can adjust the temperature and humidity in the mouth of a patient by controlling the suction force produced in the tube while performing dental treatment.


A permanent magnet rotor includes a core and a plurality of magnetizable elements held about the outer circumferential surface of the core, as by an adhesive. The core and magnetizable elements are cold-pressed into a deep drawn cup-shaped outer metallic shell having a substantially closed end wall and an opposite open end defined by a peripheral edge which is rolled over the periphery of an end plate to encapsulate the core and magnetizable elements within the shell. An insulator disk is preferably disposed between each end of the core and the adjacent shell end wall and end plate. The permanent magnet rotor may be formed by a methond and apparatus that cold press the core and magnetizable elements into the cup-shaped shell and form the peripheral edge of the shell over the end plate to effect encapulation.

The present invention relates generally to permanent magnet rotors, and more particularly to a novel permanent magnet rotor employing a deep drawn cup or shell and a method for encapsulating into the shell a core having magnetizable elements held about the circumference of the core.
Permanent magnet rotors for electronically commutated motors (ECMs) typically are constructed of a generally cylindrical iron core, which may be of a solid or sintered metal construction or may be a laminated core, and around which are positioned a plurality of magnetizable elements. The magnetizable elements are arcuate shaped with an inner contour conforming to the outer surface of the core such that the magnets may be adhered to the core, as by an adhesive layer. The magnetizable elements are generally made from barium or strontium ferrite, or samarium cobalt (rare earth). Permanent magnet rotors of this general type find particular application in motors having control circuitry which controls energization of the windings in one or more predetermined sequences to provide rotational magnetic fields and thereby rotation of the rotor. Numerous patents disclosing such rotor applications are identified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,286 which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. Rotors produced in accordance with the present invention can be used to particular advantage in refrigeration evaporation and condenser fan motor applications where high reliability, high efficiency and long service life are particularly important.
The relative high mass of the materials used to form the magnetic elements and the relatively high rotor speeds, generally in the order of 1000-16,000 RPM, create significant forces during rotor operation, including centrifugal forces and substantial momentum forces upon sudden reversals of rotor rotation. Retention of the magnets in predetermined rotational positions about the core is critical to optimum motor operation. A number of methods and techniques for retaining magnets in fixed relation on the rotor core have previously been considered. One such technique involves positioning the magnetic elements around the core and applying a Kelvar or fiberglass wrap to hold the magnets in place. In this technique, an adhesive filler may be employed to fill voids and provide a more rigid structure, thereby further preventing magnet movement about the core during motor operation.
Another technique for retaining magnets on an associated core in a permanent magnet rotor includes wrapping a relatively fine wire, under tension, around the magnetic elements followed by an adhesive or epoxy coating to protect the wire and "pot" the assembly. Another technique employs a cylindrically shaped shell or "can" which is assembled around the outer peripheral surfaces of the magnets. Various prior methods and techniques for retaining magnets in fixed rotational position on associated cores in permanent magnet rotors are described in greater detail in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,286.
While many of the prior approaches to retaining magnets on rotor cores has been found satisfactory for their intended applications, many exhibit drawbacks such as difficulty in manufacture and/or assembly, or failure to adequately retain the magnets in fixed rotational position on the rotors during high speed operation and when subjected repeated starting, stopping and reversal of the motor in which the rotor is used.
As described in pending application Ser. No. 863,900, public concern over power consumption, as well as environmental concerns, have among other things lead to increased research and effort in the design of more efficient electrical appliances, including components such as fan motors. Accordingly, a rotor assembly which lends itself to economical manufacturing techniques and use in motor applications which contribute to reduced power consumption and improved environmental conditions would greatly enhance the public well-being.

Method for making permanent magnet rotor


An IC package includes: a multi-layered PCB having a plurality of insulating layers and a plurality of conductive pattern layers stacked in sequence and a plurality of via-holes formed through the plurality of the insulating layers for an electrical connection between the layers; and an IC chip disposed in a core insulating layer of the plurality of the insulating layers to be embedded in the multi-layered PCB and including a plurality of input/output pads on their surface. The input/output pads disposed at an outermost area of the IC chip are coupled to outer terminals by connection members without passing through said via-hole, the remaining input/output pads except for the input/output pads disposed at the outermost area of the IC chip are coupled to the outer terminals through the via-hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit package and a manufacturing method thereof and particularly to a fan-out structure of a wafer level package and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to a recent trend of improving to achieve light-weight and compact parts, a wafer level package (WLP) technology is being introduced as a way of achieving this in the package assembly field. Being different from the conventional process in that every single chip separated from a wafer is packaged on one-by-one basis, the wafer level packaging makes it possible to finish the assembly process on the wafer without separating the chip. Briefly, there are four steps in this technology which are: circuit designing, wafer treating, assembling, and inspecting for the completion of the semiconductor manufacturing process. Among these steps, the assembling, which includes wire bonding and packaging, is performed by dicing the chip from the processed wafer; attaching the respective chip to a small substrate; bonding wire; and packaging the chip with plastic material. However, in the wafer level packaging, the packaging process is simply performed by initially applying photo-sensitive insulating materials to each of chips on the wafer instead of the conventional plastic material for packaging. Thereafter, the packaging process is finished by bonding the wire and applying the insulating material.
With the application of the above packaging technology, the semiconductor assembly process including the steps such as the wire bonding and the plastic material packaging may be eliminated. Furthermore, a significant reduction of cost can be attained because the plastic material, a circuit board and the bonding wire and etc. are not necessary. Particularly, the size of the package can be reduced by 20% in comparison to a conventional chip scale package (CSP) which has been employed in miniaturization efforts of the semiconductor. This is because it is possible to manufacture the package at the same size as the chip. Additionally, the existing wafer assembling facility and process can be employed in the manufacturing facility and process of the wafer level package.
On the other hand, as a part of multi-function and small-sized package technology in the next generation, attention has been recently paid to the development of a printed circuit board with a built-in IC (electronic device). In addition to the advantages such as the multi-function and small-sized package, the printed circuit board with the built-in IC provides more functions. It is not only because the wiring distance can be minimized in a high frequency above 100 MHz, but because there is a solution for improving the reliability problem which are associated with the connection of the parts using bonding wire or solder ball, which is adopted in a flexible circuit board or a ball grid array.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit package according to a conventional technology.
FIG. 1 is a wafer level package using multi-layered PCB. As shown, an IC chip 10, which includes on its upper face a plurality of input/output pads 11 for electrical connection, is disposed within a cavity in an insulating layer 20 corresponding to a core insulating layer of the multi-layered PCB. The multi-layered PCB includes a plurality of the insulating layers 20 to 28 and a plurality of conductive patterns, which are stacked in alternate and repetitive manner. A via-hole is formed through the insulating layers 20 to 28. The electrical connection is made through the via-hole. In FIG. 1, the plurality of the input/output pads 11 is connected to outer terminals through solder-ball lands 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b, the via-hole, and connection leads 31, 32, and 33. For the sake of convenience in illustration, the via-holes formed in each of the insulating layers 22 and 23 are omitted in the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a perspective top view illustrating the fan-out structure of the wafer level package shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are top views illustrating the fan-out structure in each of layers shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 2, 3A, 3B and 3C, the fanned-out type solder-ball lands 31a and 31b, 32a and 32b, and 33a and 33b are arranged in double rows on each of the insulating layers, thus three insulating layers are needed for the fan-out structure.
The sizes of the solder-hall and the bump are limited by the size of the via-hole formed in the PCB because the conventional wafer level package is electrically connected to the PCB through the via-hole. In other words, as the sizes of the solder ball and the bump are enlarged, they impose the restriction on increasing the amount of the input/output pads. Further, as a larger number of layers is needed when mounting on the embedded-type PCB, the total thickness of the PCB is unfavorably increased.

Integrated circuit package and manufacturing method thereof

Maetan-dong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do


Several ten thousands or several millions of juxtaposed hollow thin tubes, each having a diameter of, for example, 12 .mu.m and a length of 1 mm, are joined to each other to form a window having a predetermined open surface area. The window having a diameter of, for example, 30 mm, can withstand a differential pressure of several atm. A high-vacuum X-ray source and the window consisting of thin tubes having the aforementioned dimensions are connected through a differential evacuating device having a plurality of stages connected with a partitioning wall having an orifice of predetermined dimensions provided between the adjacent stages. The pressures at the two sides of the window are maintained to the atmospheric pressure and a pressure which is 1/10th of the atmospheric pressure, respectively. X-rays having a long wavelength of 10 .ANG. or above and emitted by a SOR device under a high vacuum can be illuminated on a sample provided in an environment at the atmospheric pressure at a high transmittance and over a wide area which cannot be achieved by a conventional Be window.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for exposing a substrate like a semiconductor wafer to X-rays in the lithographic process in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to an X-ray transmitting window which forms a partitioning wall of two vessels having a relative pressure difference and which transmits X-rays so as to allow X-rays to be transferred between the vessels.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is an increasing demand for fine circuit patterns in order to provide high-density and high-performance semiconductor integrated circuits. The possibility of formation of fine patterns on the order of 0.1 .mu.m or less is the primary reason for developing X-ray lithography. A promising high-output X-ray source employed in such an X-ray lithography is SOR (synchrotron orbital radiation). In X-ray lithography which employs SOR, X-rays generated under a high vacuum of about 10.sup.-10 Torr are irradiated onto a sample, such as a semiconductor wafer, generally placed in an atmosphere having 1 atm. To achieve this, an X-ray transmitting window made of a material having a high X-ray transmittance, such as beryllium (Be), is provided between the SOR source and the sample chamber.
For the reason mentioned above, a pressure difference substantially equal to 1 atm is applied to the X-ray transmitting window. In the case of an X-ray transmitting window made of a Be plate and having an opening area of, for example, 30 mm.times.30 mm, such a pressure difference can be resisted if the thickness is about 0.2 mm. However, such a Be X-ray transmitting window has the following drawbacks.
(1) 10 .ANG. X-rays which pass through Be are attenuated at about 0.2 dB/.mu.m. This attenuation rate increases as the wavelength increases. Thus, the use of X-rays of short wavelengths in x-ray lithography is advantageous from the viewpoint of transmittance. However, X-ray absorber (which may be a gold film) on the exposure mask readily transmits X-rays of short wavelengths. Consequently, in X-ray lithography, the contrast of the X-ray absorber patterns is reduced, making exposure of fine patterns difficult. Thus, the use of a Be X-ray transmitting window which is as thin as possible and of X-rays of long wavelengths is desired. To achieve these objectives, it is necessary for the thickness of the Be X-ray transmitting window to be reduced to 1/10th or less of that of the conventional window.
(2) To achieve a high throughput in X-ray lithography, it is desired to increase the opening area of the X-ray transmitting window to about several tens of millimeters x several tens of millimeters.
Currently, it is very difficult to provide a Be X-ray transmitting window which satisfies the aforementioned requirements.


A subtraction device subtracts a predicted value generated by a predicting portion from a digital picture signal supplied through an input terminal. The subtraction device generates a difference signal as an output signal. A quantizing portion detects an activity of the difference signal, designates the number of quantizing steps corresponding to the activity, and quantizes the difference signal with the number of quantizing steps. The quantizing portion outputs side information to an output terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quantizing apparatus and method for quantizing the difference between an input signal (such as a digital audio signal or a digital picture signal) and a predicted value generated therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prediction encoding method for compressing the transmission information amount of a digital audio signal, a digital picture signal, and so forth is known. For example, in one-dimensional DPCM, the difference between an input sample value and a predicted value is formed in time direction. On the other hand, in two-dimensional DPCM, the difference between an input sample value and a predicted value is formed in spatial direction. Since a digital information signal has a correlation in time direction and in spatial direction, the difference concentrates on around 0. Thus, the difference signal can be quantized with the number of bits smaller than the number of quantizing bits. Consequently, the information amount can be reduced. In addition, when the variable length encoding process is performed using the characteristic of the concentration of the distribution of the difference signal, the information amount can be more reduced.
In the distribution of the frequency of the difference signal, values concentrate on around 0. Thus, in a conventional quantizing apparatus that deals with the difference signal, the quantizing step width at around 0 is finely designated. As the level becomes large, the quantizing step width is coarsely designated. This quantizing apparatus is referred to as a non-linear quantizing apparatus. In the conventional quantizing apparatus including the non-linear quantizing apparatus, all possible levels of the difference signal are quantized. For example, when one sample (one pixel) of a digital picture signal is quantized with eight bits, the values of the difference signal range from -255 to +255. In the conventional quantizing apparatus, all the range is used for the quantizing process.
In the conventional quantizing apparatus, the number of quantizing steps is restricted to even numbers so as to represent quantized values in binary notation. In the case that the number of quantizing steps is restricted to even numbers, when difference data is quantized with 0 as a decoded value, the quantized values are not symmetrical with respect to 0. Alternatively, even if the number of quantizing steps is 2n-1, since 2n should be used as the number of quantizing steps, there is a loss.
When the number of quantizing bits is changed from 2 to 3, the number of quantizing steps is increased from 4 to 8. Thus, as this example shows, the number of quantizing steps largely varies corresponding to the number of quantizing bits. This means that the variation of the number of quantizing bits for keeping the transmission data amount constant causes the quantizing step width to largely vary, thereby largely changing the restored picture quality.

Apparatus and method for quantizing a digital signal based on quantizing steps including odd-numbered steps


Novel non-baked color pencil leads are here disclosed which can be obtained by forming a blend composition from a filler, a pigment, a binder and the like without using any wax, at least one of the pigment and the filler being all or partially covered with a fluorinated aromatic compound, kneading the blend composition with a solvent and/or a plasticizer, extruding the kneaded material, drying the extruded articles to remove the solvent and/or the plasticizer therefrom, and then impregnating the porous articles with an oil, a fat and/or a wax.. The thus obtained non-baked color pencil leads are remarkably excellent in mechanical properties such as bending strength and pointed end strength, has a smooth writing performance, and permits the drawing of uniform lines. A high-temperature and short-time drying treatment is possible, which can remarkably decrease a manufacturing cost. The color pencil leads which can be erased with an eraser or the color pencil leads which cannot be erased with an eraser can be selectively prepared.

(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates mainly to wood-cased color pencil leads and color pencil leads for mechanical pencils. More specifically, it relates to non-baked color pencil leads which are remarkably excellent in mechanical properties such as bending strength and pointed end strength and which have a smooth writing performance. Furthermore, it relates to color pencil leads and a method for preparing the same by which the conventional color pencil leads not erasable with an eraser or the color pencil leads erasable with the eraser can be optionally prepared and which permits noticeably shortening a drying time and decreasing a manufacturing cost.
(ii) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional non-baked color pencil leads can be prepared by a wet process which comprises, if necessary, dissolving and swelling an organic polymeric material as a binder in a solvent such as water and/or a plasticizer, kneading the same with a wax, a filler, a pigment and the like, extruding the kneaded material, and then drying the extruded articles to remove the solvent and/or the plasticizer therefrom.
In this wet process, however, it is necessary that a drying temperature is set to the melting point or less of the wax so as to prevent the bleeding of the wax, and therefore a tremendous period of time is taken in the drying step. Moreover, leads prepared by a dry process, in which the solvent and/or the plasticizer is not used and the drying step is omitted, are also put on the market, but the quality of these leads is inferior to that of the leads obtained by the wet process.
In connection with the strength and the writing performance of the conventional color pencil leads obtained by the wet process, the adhesion of the filler and pigment by the binder is partially impeded with the wax, so that the pencil leads are worn at the drawing and exert lubricating properties and a staining power.
However, when the wax is kneaded with a blend composition containing the filler, the pigment, the binder and the like, followed by molding, the effects of the smooth writing performance and the excellent staining power are remarkable, but the deterioration of strength is also large. In consequence, any satisfactory color pencil leads balanced between the strength and the writing performance have not been obtained so far.
Heretofore, it has been difficult to erase, by an eraser, lines drawn on a paper with a usual color pencil.
On the other hand, the non-baked color pencil leads which are said to be erasable with an eraser are also put on the market, and most of these leads contain the binder, which is a non-polar organic material, and the wax as the main components in order to be easily removed from the fibers of a paper. In addition, the staining power is increased by softening the leads so as to permit drawing under weak pencil pressure, whereby the lead composition is prevented from getting into between the fibers of the paper at the drawing to obtain erasability.
However, the pigment tenaciously sticks between the fibers of the paper at the depiction by the wax, and the lead composition which has once stuck between the fibers of the paper cannot be removed completely by the adsorbing power of the eraser. Thus, this erasability is not practically satisfactory.
The removal of the drawn lines by the adsorbing power of the eraser can be achieved by using the oil, the fat and/or the wax which is liquid at ordinary temperature for all of the wax.
However, in the conventional wet process, the drying step is effected by heating at 50.degree.-60.degree. C., and therefore the oil, the fat and/or the wax bleeds and the shape of the leads cannot be maintained any more in the drying step. In consequence, the conventional wet process cannot practically utilize such an oil, fat and/or wax.
Thus, it can be conceived that color pencil porous leads are first prepared, and they are then impregnated with the oil, the fat and/or the wax which is liquid at ordinary temperature.
In order to form the open pores in the pencil porous leads, some techniques have been heretofore suggested which are a technique of adding a sublimable material, a technique of adding a pyrolysis material and a technique such as an acid and an alkali solution treatment. However, in every technique, an organic pigment is heated to a level higher than the thermal deterioration temperature of this organic pigment, and so the color pencil porous leads having a sharp color cannot be obtained.
The baked color pencil leads are only put on the market which can be prepared by kneading a clay, a white filler, a binder and the like, molding the kneaded material, baking the molded articles in an oxygen atmosphere to form baked white pencil porous leads, and then impregnating them with an ink. With regard to these baked color pencil leads, their erasability with the eraser is substantially satisfactory, but since it is impossible to impregnate the porous leads with a highly concentrated pigment ink, the impregnation is carried out by the use of a dye ink. The leads obtained by using the dye ink have the problem that they are very poor in light resistance and staining power as compared with the non-baked pencil color leads in which the pigment is used.
In order to overcome these drawbacks, a novel preparation process of color pencil leads has been contrived by a part of the inventors of the present invention, and this novel process comprises blending a water/oil repellent substance with other materials, forming open pores owing to the less wettability of the water/oil repellent substance, and then impregnating the resultant porous articles with an oil, a fat and/or a wax.
Examples of the optimum white water/oil repellent substance having excellent lubricating properties which can be used in the preparation method of the novel color pencil leads include two of graphite fluoride and boron nitride. However, in order to uniformly disperse 2 to 20 parts by weight of the water/oil repellent substance, sufficient care must be taken, since this substance is originally less wettable. In addition, the water/oil repellent substance is used in a relatively small amount, and therefore it can be presumed that some segregation is present.
When the water/oil repellent substance segregates, the open pores formed owing to the less wettability of the water/oil repellent substance also segregate, and this fact further gives rise to the segregation of the oil, the fat and/or the wax with which the porous articles are impregnated. At the time of drawing, consequently, the color pencil leads have a tendency to wear down in a nonuniform state, so that the coloring of drawn lines is uneven. In view of the fact that the more uniform lines are desired, the segregation of the water/oil repellent substance is not preferable.

Non-baked color pencil leads and method for preparing same


The structure of an antenna device is simplified to reduce the size and cost. In an antenna case having a top cover and a bottom plate joined with each other, an antenna module receiving a signal transmitted from a GPS satellite, a low noise amplifier circuit (LNA circuit) directly provided on the ground plane of the antenna module for amplifying the signal received by the antenna module, and a shield case that shields the LNA circuit are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna device provided to a vehicle to receive signals transmitted from an artificial satellite, and more particularly, to a vehicle antenna device having a simplified structure so that the size and cost can be reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a system to receive signal waves transmitted from multiple artificial satellites that orbit around the earth by a receiver and detect the present position of the receiver based on information included in the received signal waves has come into widespread use. The system is generally called GPS (Global Positioning System) in countries including Japan and the United States of America and typically uses the GPS satellites controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense, while there are similar systems such as Galileo in Europe and Glonass in the Russian Federation. Herein, the positioning system using artificial satellites, the artificial satellites for the positioning system, signal waves transmitted from the artificial satellites, and receivers receiving the signal waves will be referred to as GPS, GPS satellites, GPS signals, and GPS receivers, respectively for ease of representation.
The GPS allows the present position of a moving body to be detected highly accurately and almost in real time, and therefore the system is primarily used for measuring the present position of a moving body such as an automobile, an airplane, and a mobile telephone using a receiver provided in the moving body.
Today, GPS receivers suitable for automobiles, in other words, vehicle GPS receivers have rapidly come into widespread use. When such a GPS receiver is provided in an automobile, an antenna device for receiving a GPS signal is provided on the exterior of the automobile such as on the roof.
Also in recent years, a satellite broadcasting system in which signals including audio and video information are transmitted from a broadcasting satellite for broadcasting has been in wide use. At present, in the United States of America, audio sound information provided by such a satellite broadcasting system, so-called satellite radio broadcasting is provided by XM Satellite Radio Inc. In the satellite radio broadcasting, signals transmitted from a satellite can be received in a wide area on the earth, and therefore the broadcasting can be received and listened to not only in fixed locations such as in general households with a receiver, but also in a moving body (vehicle) such as an automobile with a receiver provided in the moving body. The latter case has attracted much attention.
An antenna device 100 as shown in FIG. 2 is an example of the vehicle antenna device to receive the above-described GPS signals or satellite broadcasting signals, in other words, signals transmitted from an artificial satellite.
As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional antenna device 100 includes an antenna module 101 including a ceramic material formed into a rectangular plate shape and antenna elements formed on both surfaces of the ceramic material, a circuit board 103 joined to one main surface of the antenna module 101 through an adhesive material 102 such as a length of double-faced adhesive tape, and a shield case 104 to shield the circuit board 103. Note that the antenna module 101 is connected with the circuit board 103 by feed pins 101a as shown in FIG. 3. The circuit board 103 is provided with electronic parts forming a low noise amplifying circuit (LNA circuit) that amplifies a signal received by the antenna module 101. The circuit board 103 is connected with an output cable 105 to extract the signal amplified by the LNA circuit to the outside (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-68912).
There has been a demand for smaller vehicle antenna devices in order to improve the appearance of the vehicle exterior. A so-called diversity method by which a number of antenna devices are provided to a vehicle has been suggested in order to improve the receiving sensitivity. By this method, a plurality of antenna devices must be provided to the vehicle, and the demand for smaller size, less costly antenna devices is strong.
The conventional antenna device 100 however includes a large number of parts as described above, and therefore there is a limit to the size and cost reduction.


A rotor position judging unit detects a rotor position by utilizing induced voltages generated at respective phases of an armature winding. While a field current flowing through a field winding rises toward a target value (while the field current temporally changes), induced voltages are generated at the respective phases of the armature winding by temporal differentiation of a magnetic flux which interlinks with the armature winding. The rotor position judging unit detects the rotor position (d-axis of a rotor) on a basis of a table containing combination of amplitude ratios and polarities of the induced voltages generated at the respective phases.

Conventionally, idling stop is known which automatically stops an engine when a vehicle stops at an intersection, or the like.
After idling stop is implemented, even during speed reduced rotation until the engine is stopped, there is, for example, a case where a driver performs operation for starting the vehicle in reaction to change of a traffic light from red to green. In this case, the vehicle requires quick restart of the engine in response to operation for starting the vehicle by the driver. To address this requirement, for example, there is a case where the engine is restarted using a motor generator (which will be also referred to as an ISG) in which a motor function and a power generation function are integrated. A revolving field type synchronous motor generator is sometimes used as the motor generator mounted on a vehicle. The revolving field type synchronous motor generator includes a field winding as a rotor, and includes an armature winding as a stator.
However, when an engine is restarted using a synchronous motor generator, a field winding has large inductance. Therefore, a synchronous motor generator requires time to cause a field current to rise. That is, a time period from when a field current starts to be applied to a field winding until when the field current reaches a target value becomes long. As a result, it takes time to restart the engine.
In contrast to this, PTL 1 discloses the following technique. In the technique disclosed in PTL 1, after a time period during which a rate of rise of a field current is relatively high has elapsed since the field current started to be applied to a field winding, a d-axis component of an armature current is applied to an armature winding in a direction in which a field magnetic flux caused by the field current is cancelled out. According to this technique, it is possible to cancel out voltage drop due to the self-inductance component of the field winding with a mutual inductance component of the field winding and the armature winding. By this means, it is possible to cause the field current to rise early. As a result, it is possible to shorten a time period until when the field current reaches a target value, so that it is possible to restart the engine quickly.

Control apparatus and control method for rotating electrical machine


The device comprises a ventilation unit (4) connected with a gas-supplying valve unit (10) via a mixing duct (11). The fixed structures of the ventilation unit (4) and gas-supplying unit (10) and of the mixing duct (11) are of one piece construction (20), so as to give the device (1) an excellent structural compactness, which will make it adaptable to different types of burners (3) and boilers (2).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for supplying a gas-air mixture to burners in heating apparatuses, comprising: a ventilation unit provided with a fan wheel operatively engaged in a fixed box-shaped portion having an inlet opening communicating with the external environment and an outlet opening to be connected with a burner, a gas-supplying valve unit comprising drive means operating on at least one valve seat to selectively open the gas passage through the valve seat itself, a mixing duct bringing the valve unit into fluid communication with the ventilation unit.
In particular the device in question is such conceived as to be advantageously utilized in heat-supplying boilers for household use. However application of the invention to heating apparatuses of different kinds may be provided.
2. Prior Art
It is known that heating apparatuses for household use such as boilers, water heaters and the like generally comprise a burner at the outlet opening of which an air-gas mixture fed through the burner itself is fired to produce the necessary heat for heating the water contained in appropriate accumulators and/or heat exchangers.
In apparatuses equipped with a burner of the pre-mixed type, the air-gas mixture is formed upstream of the burner, by cooperation between an air-feeding unit generally consisting of a centrifugal fan, and a gas-supplying valve unit. The ventilation and gas-supplying units are mutually interconnected by a connecting duct that, depending on the applications, can be located upstream or downstream of the ventilation unit and they are driven by an electronic control unit managing operation thereof depending on the requirements dictated by different operating parameters suitably controlled by the electronic control unit itself.
All that being stated, it is to point out that presently the ventilation unit and gas-supplying valve unit, as well as the electronic control unit, are accomplished as units completely distinct from each other, each of which is installed in a specific space expressly arranged for it within the holding structure of the boiler or other heating apparatus. This solution has been always deemed capable of offering a good project freedom to the heating apparatus manufactures, due to the possibility of managing the individual modules in an independent manner in the available spaces within the apparatuses themselves. However, it has now been realized that while managing of the ventilation unit, gas-supplying unit and control unit as distinct and separated modules appears to be advantageous under the point of view of freedom in planning, it actually brings about different drawbacks, among which stock managing of the individual modules is of great importance.
Difficulties are also encountered by the heating apparatus manufacturers in carrying out the planning management of the separated modules. These difficulties are further increased by the fact that, in most cases, the ventilation, gas-supplying and control units employed on a given apparatus do not come from one and the same manufacturer, but from different manufacturers, each skilled in a specific field. The heating apparatus designer therefore, must exactly know all operating parameters of each individual unit in order to verify and ensure the perfect compatibility between the different modular units even when subsequent adaptations are carried out.
It is also to point out that the fact itself that the units are accomplished as distinct and separate modules involves an increase in the overall production costs.

Device for supplying a gas-air mixture to burners in heating apparatuses


An optical filtering method that utilizes a Microchannel Plate (MCP) and an optical system that utilizes the optical filtering method. As an example, a XUV/SXR generation system that includes a MCP as a dispersionless, broadband IR pump filter.

Since the first experiment demonstrating attosecond (as) pulses from High-order Harmonic Generation (HHG) in 2001, the evolution of time resolved research of ultrafast phenomena with the precision of attosecond time scale has greatly impacted scientific understanding of electron dynamic in atoms, molecules and condensed matters. When an intense, few-cycle laser pulse (driver, pump, excitation), usually with the Infrared (IR) spectra (including Near-IR (NIR) and Mid-IR (MIR)), is tightly focused on a gaseous or other suitable target, a bright and coherent laser source in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) or soft x-ray (SXR) spectra can be generated. This generated XUV/SXR beam can have a broad bandwidth that is several to hundreds of orders of the driving pulse frequency, and a pulse duration on the order of attoseconds (as), representing some of the shortest pulse durations ever created. The generated XUV/SXR beam, however, co-propagates with the residual driving (pump, excitation) pulse.
The practical and effective use of this ultra-short XUV/SXR beam requires the separation of the co-propagating 'signal' (XUV/SXR) beam and residual 'pump' beam, in large part due to the low (10−5 to 10−6) efficiency of the HHG process that generates the signal beam. This co-propagating beam separation presents a considerable challenge, for example, when a several hundred millijoule (mJ) pump beam is used to generate a high flux signal or when a Mid-IR laser is used for extreme broadband signal spectra generation.
Several exemplary techniques and related apparatus are known, such as thin film metallic filters, the use of annular pump beams, dichroic beam splitters, a Si/SiC plate set at Brewster angle, and a grating beam separator. Their various shortcomings are explained below.
The use of a thin film (hundreds of nanometer thickness) of metallic filter is a straightforward way to block the pump beam while transmitting the XUV/SXR signal beam. However, certain types of metallic filter are transparent only over a certain spectral range. For example, a Molybdenum (Mo) filter only transmits the XUV/SXR beam above 80 electron volts (eV) photon energy. As such, there is an absence of thin film metallic filters that are transparent in a different, desired spectral range. For instance, many pump-probe experiments studying molecular dynamics involve using a photon energy around 10-20 eV; however, no single thin film metallic filter can cover this energy range. Thin film metallic filters also are extremely fragile and some types, such as Zirconium, are very susceptible to strong pump lasers.
The use of annular pump beams, while not susceptible to damage, is very inefficient because a significant among of pump energy is eliminated.
Another approach is to use a dichroic mirror coated with multiple layers of specially chosen materials for best reflectivity. However, the coating design and manufacture is complicated and the high reflectivity can only be obtained within a limited energy range.
A Si/SiC plate at the Brewster angle has been used to separate XUV and IR wavelengths. While this approach provides a high damage threshold and reflectivity higher than 50%, the achievable high reflectivity can only extend to ˜60-70 eV, and more importantly, this method does not work for a Mid-IR pump laser.
Most recently, gratings have been proposed for use as the beam separator. The system can be designed for any wavelength, and the damage threshold is high due to the grazing incident angle on the grating. However, besides involving a complicated system and exhibiting overall low efficiency, different wavelength components of the output XUV/SXR signal beam will be spatially separated. Therefore the capability to spatially overlap all the wavelength components for broadband application remains unproven.
In view of the aforementioned problems, challenges and shortcomings in the art, the inventors have recognized the benefits and advantages that would be provided by solutions embodied in systems, components, and methods for, and utilizing, optical filtering between two different wavelengths or spectra such as, but not necessarily limited to, an IR pump beam and an XUV/SXR signal beam. The benefits and advantages are especially acknowledged for systems, components, and methods for, and utilizing, optical filtering between an IR pump beam having an energy equal to or greater than about 10 mJ and the generated signal beam over an uninterrupted photon energy range from 10 eV to higher than 100 eV, and from 10 eV to higher than 200 eV.

Optical system and optical filtering method

University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


A scan driving unit and OLED display device including the unit are disclosed. In one aspect, the unit includes a first pre-decoder block that receives upper scan-line selection signals for selecting one of upper scan-lines that are arranged in an upper display region of a display panel, and outputs first logic signals based on the upper scan-line selection signals. It also includes a second pre-decoder block that receives lower scan-line selection signals for selecting one of lower scan-lines that are arranged in a lower display region of the display panel, and outputs second logic signals based on the lower scan-line selection signals. It further includes a first final-decoder block coupled between the upper display region and the first pre-decoder block that selects one of the upper scan-lines based on the first logic signals, and a second final-decoder block coupled between the lower display region and the second pre-decoder block that selects one of the lower scan-lines based on the second logic signals.

1. Technological Field
The inventive technology generally relates to a display device employing organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). More particularly, the inventive concept relates to a scan driving unit, and an OLED display device having the scan driving unit.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Recently, OLED technology has been widely used in flat panel display devices. Generally, an OLED display device implements (i.e., displays) a specific gray level using a voltage stored in a storage capacitor of each pixel circuit (i.e., an analog driving technique). However, the analog driving technique may not accurately implement a desired gray level because the technique uses the voltage (i.e., an analog value) stored in the storage capacitor of each pixel circuit.
To overcome these problems, a digital driving technique has been suggested for such devices. Specifically, each frame is produced by displaying a plurality of sub-frames. That is, one frame is divided into a plurality of sub-frames, where the emission time of each sub-frame is varied (e.g., by a factor of 2), and implements a specific gray level based on the sum of emission times of the sub-frames.
Since the technique displays one frame by display of a plurality of sub-frames (i.e., a scan time is relatively short), a scan driving unit of such device needs to operate at a high speed. Furthermore, these devices may employ a random scan digital driving technique. In this case, a scan driving unit is often implemented by a decoder-type internal circuit to randomly perform scan operations, where the decoder-type internal circuit includes a pre-decoder block and a final-decoder block.
Here, since logic signals output from the pre-decoder block that is located outside a display panel is input to the final-decoder block that is located inside the display panel, a plurality of signal-lines for transferring the logic signals from the pre-decoder block to the final-decoder block are arranged in an outer region of the display panel. Thus, as the resolution of the display panel increases, the number of the signal-lines that are arranged in the outer region of the display panel is greater. This can result in a large "dead space" of the display panel that increases its overall size.

Scan driving unit and organic light emitting display device having the same


A planar inverted F antenna includes a radiation portion to receive or transmit a radio signal, a short portion having one end connecting to the radiation portion to brace the radiation portion, a ground portion connecting to the short portion on another end, and a feed section located between the radiation portion and the ground portion, wherein the feed section has one end connecting to the radiation portion and another end directed towards the ground portion but not connected to the ground portion. The radiation portion, short portion, ground portion and feed section are formed in an integrated manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a monopole antenna, and particularly to a planar inverted F antenna fabricated in an integrated manner and adopted for use on a wireless communication device to provide high antenna performance for the wireless communication device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the wireless communication industry is expanding in recent years, wireless communication technologies have become widely used in a great number of high-tech products. Nowadays proliferations of wireless communication products are available on the market. The prevailing trend in wireless communication products is slim and light without compromising performance to meet consumers' requirements of high quality. Hence the antenna that transmits and receives signals for wireless communication products is an important item in research and development.
The commonly used antennas include dipole antennas, helix antennas, planar inverted F antennas (PIFA), microstrip antennas and the like. The PIFA can achieve impedance matching without adding inductance and capacitance, thus it is widely used.
Refer to FIG. 1 for a PIFA 100, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,795,028 B2, includes a first conductive blade 110, a second conductive blade 120, a short blade 130, a feed blade 140 and a feed connector 150. The first conductive blade 110 is the main radiation portion. The second conductive blade 120 is grounded and has a length slightly greater than that of the first conductive blade 110 but with a width no larger than that of the first conductive blade 110. The short blade 130 bridges one end of the first and second conductive blades 110 and 120, and has a width slightly smaller than that of the first and second conductive blades 110 and 120. The feed blade 140 is located between the first and second conductive blades 110 and 120, and has a width the same as the first and second conductive blades 110 and 120 but with a length slightly smaller than that of the first conductive blade 110. The feed blade 140 has one edge connecting to an edge of the first conductive blade 110 to form a line. Hence another edge of the feed blade 140 is spaced from the short blade 130 at a small distance. The feed connector 150 has a center conductor 152 running through the second conductive blade 120 to brace the feed blade 140. The feed blade 140 and the first and second conductive blades 110 and 120 are parallel with one another. The short blade 130 and the feed connector 150 are normal to the feed blade 140 and first and second conductive blades 110 and 120. Thus when the antenna is in operation, the feed blade 140 and the second conductive blade 120 create a capacitance effect to feed capacitance to the first conductive blade 110.
FIG. 2 illustrates another PIFA disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,781,547 B2. The antenna 200 is formed on an upper surface of a substrate 250 and includes a round opening 252, a slot 254, two radiation conductive wires 210 and 212, and a straight radiation conductive wire 214. The straight radiation conductive wire 214 has a feed point 240 on one end not connecting to the radiation conductive wire 212. The two radiation conductive wires 210 and 212 have a plurality of apertures 256 evenly formed thereon and they run through the substrate. The apertures 256 may also be formed on the straight radiation conductive wire 214 if necessary. The round opening 252, slot 254 and apertures 256 can increase the bandwidth and gain of the antenna 200. In addition, the substrate 250 may be a printed circuit board. The substrate 250 has a lower surface made from a conductive material to become a ground surface 220. The ground surface 220 may be located beneath the radiation conductive wire 210 and a portion of the straight radiation conductive wire 214 (e.g., one half of the straight radiation conductive wire 214).
While the conventional antenna can be shrunk without reducing its performance, the fabrication cost is still high and fabrication is difficult. To produce a low cost antenna with high performance and a simple fabrication process is still an issue continuously pursued in the industry.


An active noise reduction system for reducing the acoustic noise generated by a hard disk drive or generated external of a hard disk drive. The active noise reduction system is integrated into the hard disk drive and produces an acoustic waveform that is 180 degrees out-of-phase with the acoustic noise being generated, for example, by the spindle motor and VCM. The acoustic noise is received directly through a microphone or indirectly through the read/write head, spindle motor driver, or VCM driver. The acoustic noise is processed by electronics and the noise canceling waveform is either retrieved from the hard disk drive's memory, disk, or generated by the electronics. The noise canceling waveform is then broadcasted through one or more transducers that are integrated in the hard disk drive.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to acoustic noise reduction in a media storage system and more particularly, to active noise reduction for a hard disk drive.
2. Description of Related Art
As personal computers have proliferated in the work place and home, concerns have increased about their effect on the work and home environment. One area of concern is the effect of acoustic noise generated while the computer is in operation. A personal computer contains many different components, some of which generate acoustic noise. Examples of noise generating components include fans, hard disk drives (HDDs), and power supplies. HDDs in particular, operate at relatively high rotation speeds and are a large contributor to noise. HDDs are not only used in personal computers but are also used in personal television products (PTV), which are devices for recording broadcasted information, similarly to a video cassette recorder (VCR). Since a PTV is commonly located close to a TV, acoustic noise generated by the HDD becomes an important factor.
Typically, acoustic noise generated by the HDD can be attributable to two main sources, the spindle motor with it rotating disks, and the actuator with its voice coil motor (VCM). Contemporary HDDs are being designed with higher spindle speeds and faster access times for improving the performance of the HDD, however this improvement has resulted in increased acoustic noise.
Attempts to reduce acoustic noise generally follow one of two approaches. The first approach uses a sound absorbing material to surround, for example, the drive module to insulate the external environment from the noise generated by the HDD. One main disadvantage with this approach is that the sound absorbing material will generally provide heat insulation as well. As heat builds up in the HDD, the performance of the HDD can degrade. Another approach for decreasing acoustic noise is to increase the seek time of the HDD by reducing the movement of the actuator, which has the negative effect of decreasing the performance.
Active noise reduction is the second approach taken to reduce the acoustic noise. Typically, a microphone remotely located from the HDD receives undesirable acoustic noise and intended sound, then feeds it to an electronic circuit where it is phase-shifted 180 degrees, amplified, and broadcasted through one or more transducers, such as a speaker. Shifting the waveform of the receiving acoustic noise creates an "out-of-phase" signal that, when played back at the same time as the noise being generated, reduces and or cancels it out. U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,768 describes a multi-media computer having piezoelectric transducer panels, microphones and a sound card, configured to provide active noise reduction. The microphones are positioned in the internal walls of a desktop computer or to the inside of the display panel of a lap top computer and provide acoustic noise feedback to an electronic circuit that generates a noise cancellation sound that is broadcasted through the speaker to cancel fan, HDD, and floppy disk drive noise. The problem with this approach is that when acoustic noise is mixed with intended sound, the sound can get cancelled or reduced along with the acoustic noise because the electronic circuit may not be able to distinguish between the two. For example, under this approach when a HDD is used in a PTV, the intended TV sound would be cancelled along with the undesirable noise.
What is needed is an acoustic noise reduction method that can selectively reduce noise generated by the HDD while not affecting intended sound, or changing the form factor of the HDD.

Hard disk drive with self-contained active acoustic noise reduction

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies B.V.


A thermal bypass valve for a heat exchanger circuit includes a valve housing forming a valve chamber including a bypass passage and ports for the flow of heat exchange fluid into and out of the valve chamber as well as a bypass port defined by a valve seat. Two axially aligned thermally sensitive actuators are mounted in the chamber, each with an actuator body and its own movable piston extendible from one end of the body. One of these pistons operably engages the actuatory body associated with the other piston. Each actuator body is normally movable in the chamber in response to extension of its piston. One of the actuators extends its piston at a higher temperature than the temperature required for the other actuator to extend its piston. A bypass valve member is mounted on one of the actuators and can be moved by either actuator from an open position to a closed position.

This invention relates to thermal bypass valves for a heat exchanger circuit and a heat exchanger system using this type of valve.
Thermal bypass valves are well known in the art of heat exchangers. In particular such valves are commonly used with an oil cooler in order to help regulate the temperature of oil used in engines, transmissions, power steering systems and hydraulic systems. These known valves can provide a flow path by which the oil or heat exchange fluid passing to the valve from an oil source is returned without passing through a heat exchanger or oil cooler during a warm-up period.
An example of an oil cooler bypass valve is that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,569 which issued Aug. 30, 2005. This known cooler bypass valve has a responsive element that expands to urge a valve member against a valve seat and thereby causes transmission fluid to flow through an oil fluid cooler. A cast valve housing is utilized which is interposed between the cooler and the oil source. The valve actuating mechanism is designed to allow fluid to pass through the valve once the fluid has reached an elevated pressure level.
A possible deficiency with known oil cooler bypass valves is that, if they fail to operate as designed, this can result in substantial damage occurring to the machine or vehicle which requires the oil or heat exchange fluid to be within a desired temperature range in order to operate or in order to operate without undue wear. There is therefore a need to provide a thermal bypass valve which has a so called failsafe construction whereby, for example, in the event of the failure of a thermal actuator in the valve, the valve member will still be moved to a desired position (whether it be an open or closed position) that will prevent significant damage being caused to the machine or component that requires the oil or heat exchange fluid to be within a pre-determined temperature range.

Failsafe thermal bypass valve for cooling system


A system and method for presenting actions appropriate to successive selected document in a view. During action creation, a hide-when formula is determined with reference to the selected document for each dynamic action. During view creation, a plurality of actions applicable to the view are defined and, responsive to at least one action being a dynamic action, the view is characterized as to be evaluated. Responsive to user selection of a next document for presentation in the view, which next document is characterized as to be evaluated, actions appropriate to the view for this next document are presented.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to graphical user interfaces. More particularly, it relates to dynamically generating actions which can be performed on a selected document in a view.
2. Background Art
An action bar is a bar across the top of a Notes view or document that allows a user to execute agents, that is, sets of instructions, by clicking a button. An action is an agent that is specifically designed to be included in an action bar. In Lotus Notes, using an action builder dialog box, an interactive window may be designed to facilitate user control. One or more actions can be combined into an agent.
In form, view and folder design, agents support formula, simple action, LotusScript and JavaScript.
Previously, no matter which document is selected in a view, the actions which are displayed at the top of the view are the same. Some actions may be greyed out, but no matter which document is selected the same actions are greyed out as not selectable. Designers have not been able to display actions which apply to a particular document when that document is selected.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved system and method for presenting actions which may be executed with respect to a document in a view.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method for dynamically evaluating actions which may be executed with respect to successive documents in a view.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method whereby actions which may be executed with respect to a view may be dynamically evaluated and selectively hidden or shown for successive view panel content.

System and method for dynamically presenting actions appropriate to a selected document in a view

International Business Machines Corporation


A method, apparatus and system for storing and distributing hairpins for application to the hair of a subject, includes a support having a support surface, a plurality of hairpins releasably coupled to the support and an opener mounted to the support. The opener includes a base segment defining a longitudinal axis and having opposed generally diverging side segments. The base segment at least partially extends beyond the support surface of the support to orient the diverging side segments in position whereby legs of each hairpin may be advanced along the diverging side segments to displace the legs to cause opening thereof.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to hair styling systems, and, more particularly, relates to a system, method and apparatus for application of hairpins to the hair of a subject.
2. Description of Related Art
Hairpins such as "bobby pins" are known in the art. Hairpins are usually made from resilient material including metallic or polymeric legs connected through a hinge or bent portion. Generally, during application, hairpins are removed from the package, opened and applied to a length of hair. However, removal and opening of the hairpins often proves to be an awkward or cumbersome process.


The present invention provides a solution to the needs described above through a microphone PCB with an integrated filter. The invention provides for an electret microphone assembly. The microphone assembly includes a multilayer printed circuit board. A field effect transistor with a gate is coupled to the electret microphone. The field effect transistor drain is coupled to provide audio frequency output to an audio output node, and the field effect transistor source is coupled to a ground. A first end of a resistor is coupled to the drain of the field effect transistor and the second end is coupled to a filter. The filter attenuates unwanted electromagnetic interference associated with a radio frequency transmitter. The filter includes a filter capacitor made of a ground layer coupled to ground within the multilayer printed circuit board, an active layer within the multilayer printed circuit board coupled to the second end of the resistor, and a dielectric layer disposed between the ground layer and the active layer. The filter further includes a first and second inductor comprising vias coupled to the active layer within the printed circuit board.

Various over-the-air interfaces exist for wireless communication systems. In connection with these interfaces, various standards have been established including, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Transmitters used in these wireless communication systems to transmit voice over these interfaces can cause interference when used in close proximity to sound reproducing equipment such as microphones. The transmitter pulse repetition rate can be detected in the microphone giving rise to an audible buzz to users. Such undesired transmitter detection can occur by the microphone in a cellular phone or by the microphone in a headset being used in conjunction with the cellular phone. In the prior art, cellular phones and headsets utilize discrete capacitors and inductors to filter the unwanted radio frequency (RF) interference resulting from microphone detection of the transmitter pulse repetition rate. Such capacitive RF interference filters are well known in the art.
Microphone assemblies used in telephonic devices and headsets include a microphone transducer, sound port, and a housing containing the signal processing circuitry. The microphone transducer is typically an electret type microphone comprised of a charged diaphragm forming one plate of the capacitor and a backplate forming the other terminal. Sound impinging on the diaphragm varies the capacitance and produces a voltage signal proportional to the sound waves which is picked off the backplate and coupled to signal processing circuits. Such electret microphones typically use a Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) sensitive to RF interference. The JFET is necessary to transform the very high impedance of the small capacitor formed by the electret microphone to a more usable value of a few thousand ohms.
Electret microphones, which contain a sensitive active component FET, suffer from radio frequency (RF) interference when used in proximity to RF transmitters. As a result of the proximity of microphones and RF transmitters in cellular or cordless phones and headsets, RF interference problems frequently arise and must be addressed. RF interference problems manifest themselves as audio noise on the microphone output, resulting in objectionable background audio noise during user communication. In Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) systems, the problem is often referred to as GSM "buzz" to those of skill in the art. GSM buzz results when the transmitter's RF pulse repetition rate is sufficiently low to be detected by the microphone and demodulated by an active component field effect transistor in the microphone circuitry, producing an audible buzz in the output of the microphone resulting from RF interference caused by operation of the transmitter in a GSM system. In IDEN modulation systems, RF interference manifests as "chopper noise", a term used in the art to refer to the helicopter like sound of the resulting audio interference due to unwanted demodulation of IDEN signals.
In the prior art, radio frequency interference problems in the headset and cell phone industry is addressed in part by the use of discrete RF filter capacitors components which are placed on the microphone PCB near the FET to filter radiated and conducted RF energies from the sensitive FET. Additional discrete components may be utilized as well, including shielding, inductors, and capacitors.
Problems with the prior art solutions include additional expense of the discrete components used, potential unreliability and irregularity of off-the-shelf discrete components. Furthermore, use of discrete filter capacitors and components require valuable space on the printed circuit board (PCB) and labor to install. Thus, there has been a need for improvements in the filtering of unwanted RF interference in microphone designs. More specifically, there has been a need for improved microphone printed circuit boards that provide effective filtering and attenuation of RF interference.


A headwear article is described herein. The headwear article includes a main body sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of a wearer's head. The main body includes a fastening mechanism having a pair of segments lining edges of a closable opening in the main body. Each segment of the fastening mechanism has a plurality of magnets and each of the plurality of magnets is configured to attract an opposite magnet located along an opposite edge of the opening to selectively close at least a portion of the opening around a bundle of hair when at least a portion of each of the segments of the fastening mechanism is beside and touching the other segment.

Men and women with long hair who like to wear their hair pulled up into a bundle (e.g. a ponytail and/or a bun) often have a preferred position (e.g. height and/or location) on their head for their bundle. The position of the bundle as well as the size and/or shape of the bundle may vary from person to person. When wearing a hat, the wearer is often unable to wear their hair in a bundle at their preferred position as the bundle protrudes from the wearer's head and does not fit between the hat and the scalp of the wearer.
Many different technologies have been developed to address this problem.
For instance, as referenced in U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,494A by Winslow et al, one potential solution provides for the passage of hair through an opening in a hat using clasps and overlapping portions of fabric.
Another potential solution, as referenced in US20110173739A1 by Riesen et al, provides for the passage of hair through an opening in a hat and attempts to conceal the opening by use of an invisible zipper.
Another potential solution, as referenced in US20140082826A1 by Kuthari, provides a closable opening in a hat by use of a fastener mechanism, which is clearly seen from the outside of the headwear.
Another potential solution, as referenced in WO2005029985A2 by Tufano-Sisca, provides a permanent opening in a hat for hair passage, with an adjustable closer fastening system using Velcro.
Another potential solution, as referenced in U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,872A by Lema, provides a permanent opening in a hat for hair passage, with a specific immovable opening location.
Currently hats with openings for bundles of hair generally do not accommodate multiple bundles of hair and do not provide a flexible opening to accommodate various shapes and sizes, and locations of hair passage. Further, the openings of these hats are typically easily viewable and not concealed when not in use.
Accordingly, there is a need for new headwear with a closable opening that provides for the passage of hair therethrough and are concealed when not in use.


The present invention provides an improved channel quality indicator indicia for OFDM communication environments. In addition to taking into consideration carrier-to-interference ratios, the present invention also takes into consideration the degree to which the channel response varies among the sub-carriers throughout the OFDM frequency band. The carrier-to-interference ratio and the degree of channel response variation are directly or indirectly used by a base station to select coding and modulation schemes for transmissions from the base station to the mobile terminal reporting these factors. Further, scheduling of data sent to the mobile terminal and other mobile terminals competing for the same channel resources may also be based in part on the carrier-to-interference ratio and the degree to which the channel response varies.

Today's advanced wireless packet data CDMA systems, such as High Speed Data Packet Access (HSDPA) systems, measure the carrier-to-interference ratio (CIR) at a mobile terminal, and based on this measurement, send channel quality indicator (CQI) information to the base station. The CQI information, as defined using the CIR measurement for CDMA systems, is a reliable indication of the error rate expected at the mobile terminal. CQI information is continuously reported back to the base station because the transmission channel conditions change as the mobile terminal and objects around the mobile terminal move. Therefore, the CQI information reporting occurs on a regular basis, continuously updating the base station of the changing channel conditions experienced by the mobile terminal. The base station receives CQI information for each active mobile terminal that is attempting to share a common transmission channel.
The base station uses the CQI information for two primary purposes. The first purpose is to select from various levels of modulation and coding to use for transmissions to the mobile terminal in an effort to maximize the throughput to that particular mobile terminal or for the system in general. The second purpose is to assist in scheduling when and how much information should be sent to the mobile terminal and other mobile terminals competing for channel resources. Depending on the scheduling criteria, the base station may choose to send more data to those mobile terminals experiencing good channel conditions to maximize the system's overall throughput. For example, the scheduling criteria may dictate sending information only to those mobile terminals having channel conditions sufficient to support the highest data rate or rates.
In orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, the CIR may also be used as a CQI in the same fashion as it is used for CDMA. When one plots the average error rate at the mobile terminal as a function of the CIR, the result is a monotonically decreasing function. However, OFDM and CDMA communications differ in some fundamental ways. One particular difference is the mechanism by which frequency diversity is achieved in each system. Due to this difference, CIR alone is not the most reliable indication of the error rate to be expected at the mobile terminal. As illustrated in FIG. 1, for a given CIR, there is a fairly large variance in the error rate. A large variance in the error rate for a given CIR implies that there are other factors that influence the error rate, not just the CIR. In contrast, CDMA systems have a much smaller variance in the error rate at a particular CIR at the output of a receiver, and as such, the CIR alone has proven to be a good CQI. Since CIR alone is not sufficient for efficient OFDM systems, there is a need for an improved CQI for OFDM systems that takes into account the frequency response of the channel.


A reciprocating saw, comprises: a housing [13], a plunger [15], a driving gear [7], a link shaft [4], a pushing member [9], a lifting member [11], a front end portion of said link shaft [4] rotatablely connect with a rear end portion of said plunger [15], said lifting member [1] connect with said housing [13] and contact with a front end portion of said pushing member [9], said lifting member [11] also contact with a sleeve bearing which disposed on a rear end portion of said plunger [15], a angle between lines through a center of a first eccentric shaft [5], a rotating center of said driving gear [7] and a rotating center of a second eccentric shaft [8] is an obtuse angle. Said pushing member will move back and forth when said link shaft [4] move forward, the movement of said pushing member in the direction opposite to the movement of said link shaft will eliminate the vibration which resulting from the reciprocating movements of said plunger.

In the prior art, a reciprocating saw comprises: a housing; a plunger in the housing for mounting a saw blade; a driving gear connecting with driving mechanism; a first eccentric shaft and a second eccentric shaft which all disposed on said driving gear; a link shaft which rear end portion connecting with said first eccentric shaft; a pushing member which rear end portion rotatablely connecting with said second eccentric shaft, a lifting member; a front end portion of said link shaft rotatablely connecting with a rear end portion of said plunger, said lifting member pivotally connecting with said housing; a first eccentric shaft drives a link shaft to move reciprocally so that the plunger is able to drive a saw blade move reciprocally fore and aft when the driving gear rotate. For saving energy, the saw blade is desired in a depress downwardly state from the workpiece when the saw blade move in the anti teeth direction, and the saw blade is desired in a slightly lifting upwardly state from the workpiece, for obtaining such a desirable solution, a blade orbital lifting device is supplied, a actuating member for blade lifting device in the conventional design actuating the blade lifting device by the pull way, in this kind structure, the moving direction of the actuating member is consistent with the moving direction of the plunger of the reciprocating saw so that caused a acute vibration of the reciprocating saw during using.
Invention Content
The object of present utility model is to provide a low vibration reciprocating saw.
The technical proposal of the present utility model is: a reciprocating saw, comprising: a housing; a plunger in the housing for mounting a saw blade; a driving gear connecting with driving mechanism; a first eccentric shaft] and a second eccentric shaft which all disposed on said driving gear; a link shaft which rear end portion connecting with said first eccentric shaft; a pushing member which rear end portion rotatablely connecting with said second eccentric shaft, a lifting member; a front end portion of said link shaft rotatablely connecting with a rear end portion of said plunger, said lifting member pivotally connecting with said housing; said lifting member contacting with a front end portion of said pushing member and also contacting with a sleeve bearing which disposed on a rear end portion of said plunger, a angle formed between lines through a axle center of a first eccentric shaft, a axle center of said driving gear and a axle center of a second eccentric shaft is an obtuse angle, said lines lies in a plane which perpendicular to said first eccentric shaft.
The advantages of the present utility model as following:
The angle between lines through a center of a first eccentric shaft, a rotating center of said driving gear and a rotating center of a second eccentric shaft is an obtuse angle so that said pushing member will move backward when said link shaft move forward, the movement of said pushing member in the direction opposite to the movement of said link shaft will eliminate the vibration which resulting from the reciprocating movements of said plunger.
In all the FIGS, the numbers respectively indicate to:    [1], a saw blade; [2], a spring; [3], a pivot; [4], a link shaft; [5], a first eccentric shaft; [6], a counterweight; [7], a driving gear; [8], a second eccentric shaft; [9], a pushing member; [10], a pivot for said link shaft; [11], a lifting member; [12], a sleeve bearing; [13], a housing; [14], a ball bearing; [15], a plunger; [16], a connecting pin; [17], transmitting gear shaft;


Demodulation apparatus includes a transversal filter characterized by coefficients adjusted by a coefficient determiner responsive to a constant modulus error signal and variable mode error signal related to the output of a spectral mean frequency detector having its input coupled to the output of the transversal filter.

Multipath interference in the time domain may be represented by the superposition of an initial version of a signal of interest (SOI) with multiple delayed and filtered versions of the same signal. The delayed and filtered versions of the SOI result from reflections and other irregularities. When viewed in the frequency domain, multipath interference can be modeled as a comb filter placed somewhere in the transmission path of an SOI.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art signal processing system that attempts to reduce the effects of multipath interference on a received signal. This system places an adaptive transversal (or FIR) filter in the receiver signal path whose function is to undo linear errors caused by multipath interference.
Equations 1 through 4 below provide the mathematical foundation for a prior art adaptive transmission channel equalizer based on a Constant Modulus Algorithm (CMA). CMA refers to the type of error estimate used to adjust the transversal filter coefficients. These equations specifically refer to a form of CMA referred to as CMA 2-2 (after Dominique Goddard), but the discussion can be generalized to other forms of CMA known in the prior art.y(k)=WT(k)X(k)   Eq. 1W(k+1)=W(k)−μecm(k)X*(k)   Eq. 2ecm(k)=[|y(k)|2−R2]y(k)   Eq. 3R2=E{|y(k)4}/E{″y(k)|2}  Eq. 4
In equations 1 through 4 above, X(k) is a vector of input history at time k, y(k) is the scalar output value from the adaptive filter, W(k) is a vector of filter coefficients, ecm[k] is the Constant Modulus Error Estimate, which is based on the CMA 2-2 algorithm, R2 is a constant that is dependent upon the data modulation method used, and represents the scaling necessary to match the adaptive filter output to the thresholds of the data demodulator. For Constant Modulus modulation methods such as frequency modulation (FM), this expression reduces to R2=Ro2, where Ro=E{|y(k)|}. μ is a step size parameter that adjusts the extent to which coefficients are changed at each time step. Each next set of coefficients W(k+1) is determined based on the previous coefficient values W(k) and an estimate of the gradient of the error of the filter output modulus with respect to the transversal filter tap weights (coefficients).
In prior art system 100 of FIG. 1, an input signal is received by front end block 10. The front end serves as an interface between the outside world and the system of interest. A typical front end may incorporate a signal conditioning function and some type of tuning function. Signal conditioning is usually applied to match the incoming signal from the outside world to the system of interest, in order to enhance system dynamic range and signal to noise ratio (an example is use of an AGC function in the RF front end of a radio receiver). Tuning usually consists of combining a frequency selective function with a frequency shifting function, where the shifting function is used to shift the range of frequencies over which the frequency selectivity occurs.
The output of front end 10 feeds into power normalization block 20. In some systems, power normalization may be performed directly by front end 10 (in the AGC if present). In such systems, a separate power normalization stage is not required. However, it is often the case the output of front end 10 may still have an average signal power that varies considerably with time. In these cases, a separate power normalization function is applied.
FIG. 1 shows power normalization 20 located ahead of the ADC 30. Power normalization 20 may be accomplished by an analog AGC. In system 100 of FIG. 1, the power normalized signal (the output of power normalization block 20) is then digitized by ADC 30 and applied to the input of adaptive transversal filter 40. Eq. 1 defines the signal processing of transversal filter 40 given the input data and coefficient vectors. The output of adaptive transversal filter 40 splits into two paths, a signal path and a control path. The signal path output is demodulated by demodulation block 70 in a manner that represents the inverse of the method used to originally modulate the data. After demodulation, the demodulated signal may also be decoded, if the original modulating signal was encoded in some manner. The output of demodulator 70 is the recovered data signal of interest.
The control path output feeds back into Constant Modulus (CM) Error Estimation block 60. CM error estimation block 60 determines an error cost function in accordance with Eq. 3, which effectively is the difference between the modulus of the output of adaptive filter 40 and a constant value R2 (as defined in Eq. 4). The result of this determination is the error estimate signal ecm(k). The error estimate signal ecm(k) (the output of CM error estimation block 60) feeds into coefficient determination block 50. Coefficient determination block 50 determines coefficient signal updates in accordance with Eq. 2. The coefficient signal values are updated based on the error estimate signal ecm(k), the current coefficient signal values W(k), the adaptation step size μ, and the conjugated input data signal X*(k). When functioning as intended, the coefficient value signals determined at succeeding time steps change in a direction that tends to minimize the error cost function.
Prior art system 100 of FIG. 1 assumes that the transmitted SOI has a constant modulus property. When such a signal is subject to multipath interference (during transmission, for example), the received signal will no longer have a constant modulus property. (The comb filter behavior caused by multiple reflections destroys the constant modulus behavior). CM error estimation block 60 of prior art system 100 in conjunction with coefficient determination block 50 determines coefficient signals for transversal filter 40 that attempt to force the output of transversal filter 40 to have a constant modulus property. Algorithms that accomplish this behavior are referred to as CMA (constant modulus algorithms).
For additional background reference is made to the following:
NumberTitleInventorDateU.S. Pat. No.CMA-Based AntennaYukitomo,May 25, 19995907303Systemet al.U.S. Pat. No.Technique for ImprovingWerner,Sep. 15, 19985809074the Blind Convergence ofet al.an Adaptive EqualizerUsing a TransitionAlgorithmU.S. Pat. No.GeneralizedWerner,Aug. 17, 19995940440Multimoduluset al.Technique for BlindEqualizationU.S. Pat. No.Reducing MultipathTingleyDec. 9, 19975697084Fading UsingAdaptive FilteringU.S. Pat. No.Method and Device forGodardJan. 5, 19824309770Training an AdaptiveEqualizer by Means of anUnknown Data Signal ina Transmission SystemUsing DoubleSideband-QuadratureCarrier ModulationU.S. Pat. No.Adaptive EqualizingHwangApr. 9, 19965506871System for Digitalet al.CommunicationsEP 0 854 589Adaptive AntennaAkaiwa,Jul. 22, 1998A2Diversity Receiveret al


The invention relates to a method and an system for displaying viewscreen information on a display in a mobile communication device, wherein the viewscreen information is related to information shown on a viewscreen, wherein the method comprise the steps of determining a direction to the viewscreen from the mobile communication device, communicating the determined direction to a server, determining, in the server, viewscreen information based on the direction to the viewscreen, wherein the viewscreen information is related to information displayed on the viewscreen, receiving viewscreen information from the server in the mobile communication device and displaying the viewscreen information on the display in the mobile communication device.

In public places such as at the train station, at the air port or in a super market, information is often presented on one or more viewscreens (i.e. monitors, display boards, screens, etc.). In many cases the information displayed on the viewscreens can be very difficult to read and/or to interpret due to factors such as bad eye sight, stress, poor reading skills or dyslexia, bad layout and design of the graphical interface (non-ergonomically chosen colors or font, information crowding, etc.) and a long distance between the person and the viewscreen. At some places, such as at a large train station, there are often a large number of persons looking at the viewscreens at the same time and they may partially or completely block the line-of-sight to the viewscreen making it very hard to read the information displayed on it.
Not being able to read the information on the viewscreen, for whichever reason, may be very frustrating and stressful to a person. Therefore, finding way to get hold of the information displayed on the viewscreens despite not being able to see or read the information displayed on the viewscreen, is highly sought after.


The present invention provides a method for the amplification of at least a first and a second target nucleic acid that may be present in a fluid sample. The invention further provides a kit and an analytical system for carrying out said amplification.

In the field of molecular diagnostics, the amplification of nucleic acids from numerous sources has been of considerable significance. Examples for diagnostic applications of nucleic acid amplification and detection are the detection of viruses such as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), West Nile Virus (WNV) or the routine screening of blood donations for the presence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis-B (HBV) and/or C Virus (HCV). Furthermore, said amplification techniques are suitable for bacterial targets such as mycobacteria or Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, or the analysis of oncology markers.
The most prominent and widely-used amplification technique is Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Other amplification reactions comprise, among others, the Ligase Chain Reaction, Polymerase Ligase. Chain Reaction, Gap-LCR, Repair Chain Reaction, 3SR, NASBA, Strand Displacement Amplification (SDA), Transcription Mediated Amplification (TMA), and Qβ-amplification.
Automated systems for PCR-based analysis often make use of real-time detection of product amplification during the PCR process in the same reaction vessel. Key to such methods is the use of modified oligonucleotides carrying reporter groups or labels.
It has been shown that amplification and detection of more than one target nucleic acid in the same vessel is possible. This method is commonly termed "multiplex" amplification and requires different labels for distinction if real-time detection is performed.
Rohayem et al. have suggested a multiplex RT-PCR assay for the agarose-gel-based detection of the RNA viruses Norovirus and Astrovirus and the DNA virus Adenovirus (2004, Journal of Virological Methods 118, 49-59).
An improved method for simultaneous amplification and detection of different nucleic acids is provided.