A method and system for applying a multi-rate charge to a battery are included herein. The method includes detecting a plurality of predetermined electrical measurements and a plurality of predetermined charge currents. The method also includes detecting an electrical measurement of the battery. Additionally, the method includes selecting a charge current from the plurality of predetermined charge currents to be applied to the battery based on the electrical measurement of the battery and the plurality of predetermined electrical measurements. Furthermore, the method includes applying the charge current to the battery. The method also includes detecting a plurality of subsequent electrical measurements of the battery. In addition, the method includes applying a plurality of subsequent charge currents to the battery based on the plurality of subsequent electrical measurements of the battery and the plurality of predetermined charge currents.

1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to charging a battery and more specifically, but not exclusively, to a multi-rate battery charge.
2. Description
Mobile computing devices rely on a variety of batteries for power. As the mobile computing devices become more complex, the power consumption of the mobile computing devices increases. As a result, the batteries that provide power to the mobile computing devices may have larger capacities because the batteries may be rapidly discharged. Therefore, various methods for decreasing the amount of time to charge a battery have been developed. For example, one method of charging a battery entails sending a constant current to a battery for a period of time. However, the batteries can take a significant amount of time to receive a full charge. Additional battery charging methods can attempt to charge the batteries at a higher charge rate to reduce the charge time. However, charging a battery at a higher charge rate can damage the battery and reduce the life of the battery. Therefore, a process to charge a battery in a faster amount of time without damaging the battery would help maintain power to the mobile computing devices, while preserving the life of the battery.

Charging a battery using a multi-rate charge


Embodiments disclose a vehicle which has a vehicle ceiling having a first sound wave reflection portion having a first sound wave reflection characteristic and a second portion having a second sound wave reflection characteristic, wherein the first sound wave reflection portion is more sound wave reflecting than the second sound wave reflection portion and at least one speaker arranged in the vehicle, so that a main sound emission direction is directed to the first sound wave reflection portion, so that a sound wave emitted by the speaker and reflected by the first sound wave reflection portion is perceptible as a diffuse sound by a person in the vehicle.

The present invention relates to a vehicle which comprises a sound wave reflector so that a sound wave emitted by a speaker and reflected at the sound wave reflector can be perceived as diffuse sound.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,424,127 B1 describes a seat mounted speaker, wherein in the backrest of the seat two electro-acoustical transducers or speaker are integrated and orientated such that the respective axes are substantially vertical to a person's head sitting on the vehicle seat. The transducers are used to facilitate the directional audio signal, such as left and right stereophonic device, which are emitted axial to the headrest in the vehicle's compartment. The integrated speaker is mainly emitting the sound waves in an axial direction of the headrest. It is the object of the U.S. patent to generate and provide an improved surround sound to passengers sitting in the vehicle.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


A ring-shaped surround for a loudspeaker is disclosed, in the form of a membrane formed in a shape that, when relaxed (i.e. when not being driven), has a cross sectional shape with a first portion extending in a radial direction for a first distance, a second portion extending in an axial direction for a second distance, and a third portion extending in a radial direction for a third distance, the first and second portions being connected by a first flexible join, and the second and third portions being connected by a second flexible join, the first join having a first radius of curvature that is shorter than at least one of said first and second distances, the second join having a second radius of curvature that is shorter than at least one of said second and third distances. Thus, the surround has a Z-shape, with a first radially extending portion, and a relatively sharp bend leading to an axially-extending portion. The radially outwardly extending portion can have a surface which undulates around its circumference, to provide a stiffening effect to the otherwise planar surface and inhibit resonances. One or more tabs can be provided, extending from a surface of the second portion, in a direction transverse to the local orientation of the second portion. These will adjust the dynamic properties of the surround as required. Typically, the surround will be circular, to fit around a circular driver. However, other shapes are possible.

The surround is a component on a conventional cone driver. Cone drivers are widely used particularly for the low (20-500 Hz) and midrange (500-3000 Hz) parts of the audio spectrum. The surround provides a flexible air seal between the cone and chassis.
Clearly, the surround must be designed so that it does not impede the motion of the cone—even under large excursions. A common design of surround is the half-roll layout, as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. This consists of a annular flange 10, which fits around the (circular) cone and forms a bridge to the (substantially circular) aperture in the chassis into which the cone fits. A flat circular flange 12 extends around the outer circumference of the surround, and allows it to be fixed to the chassis. An inner circumferential flange 14 defines a truncated cone and substantially matches the outer rim of the cone (not shown), allowing the surround to be attached to the cone.
A "half-roll" 16 is provided between (and bridging) the inner flange 14 and the outer flange 12. This is an approximately semi-circular (in section) length of material which initially extends from the inner flange 14 away from the cone and forward of the driver before curving back towards a junction 18 with the outer flange 12. The two flange areas 12, 14 are located at approximately the same axial position. The length of rubber material around the roll shape 16 is greater than the gap 20 between the chassis edge and the cone edge; thus, as the cone moves, the increase in the gap between the cone edge and the chassis edge is accommodated by the extra material around the roll shape 16. Hence, the half roll design impedes the cone very little at low frequencies, when the cone and surround are moving in a simple manner.
The surround is commonly manufactured in a flexible material such as rubber. It is necessary for the material to have a low elasticity, so that the surround does not impede the motion of the cone. However, because of this low elasticity, the bending wavespeed in the material is typically very low. This can cause problems at mid frequencies, where the surround can resonate quite severely. As the surround is quite large in surface area—typically a significant proportion of the cone area—this surround resonance will normally radiate quite effectively. Additionally with a soft cone, such as those made from paper, polypropylene or Kevlar, where the cone is used partly in "breakup" mode, i.e. where the cone is bending in its bandwidth of usage, the surround behaviour has a great effect on the cone motion. In addition, in these modes the surround resonances commonly coincide with bending of the cone edge, which further degrades the radiated frequency response. This is partly because the mechanical impedance presented to the cone edge by the surround typically varies widely with frequency when the surround is close to resonance.
There are a number of techniques which are conventionally employed to try and avoid these issues:                careful material selection for the surround        small flat areas on the inner edge of the surround        changing the thickness of the surround material        adjusting the roll height and width on the surround
However, none of these techniques are guaranteed to be successful in every case. None of these techniques completely eliminate the surround resonance; in the majority of cases, they operate by modifying the behaviour so as to alleviate the problem in that the resonance is not evident in the radiated sound. This approach commonly results in designs which are finely balanced, meaning that if it proves necessary to make a small change of geometry or material for other reasons, the surround resonance problems can re-emerge.


The invention relates to a powder metallurgically manufactured steel with a chemical composition containing, in % by weight: 0.01-2 C, 0.6-10 N, 0.01-3.0 Si, 0.01-10.0 Mn, 16-30 Cr, 0.01-5 Ni, 0.01-5.0 (Mo+W/2), 0.01-9 Co, max. 0.5 S and 0.5-14 (V+Nb/2), where the contents of N on the one hand and of (V+Nb/2) on the other hand are balanced in relation to each other such that the contents of these elements are within an area that is defined by the coordinates A′, B′, G, H, A′, where the coordinates of [N, (V+Nb/2)] are: A: [0.6,0.5]; B′: [1.6,0.5]; G: [9.8,14.0]; H: [2.6,14.0], and max. 7 of (Ti+Zr+Al), balance essentially only iron and impurities at normal amounts. The steel is intended to be used in the manufacturing of tools for injection moulding, compression moulding and extrusion of components of plastics, and for tools for cold working, which are exposed to corrosion. The invention also relates to construction components such as injection nozzles for engines, wear parts, pump parts, bearing components etc. Yet another field of application is the use of the steel alloy for the manufacturing of knives for food industry.

In connection with injection moulding, compression moulding and extrusion of plastic components, the tool is exposed to corrosive media originating from the components of the plastic, but also from the release and lubricating agents that are applied onto the tool surface in order to decrease the friction between the plastic and the forming tool. Cooling ducts with water and its normal content of chloride ions are known to result in corrosion damages in forming tools for plastic. Often, the tools have a complex shape with cavities. Even when a tool is taken out of operation, the liquid remaining in these cavities can result in local attacks of corrosion if the material does not have the requisite corrosion-resistance. Galling and fretting are other fields of problems that result in increased maintenance and decreased production.
Galling and adhesive wear is caused by micro-welding between tool parts when exposed to a high contact pressure that leads to metal fragments getting stuck on the tool parts and thus increasing friction. Eventually, shearing occurs between the parts, which results in complete renovation or exchange of these.
Fretting or fretting corrosion takes place between parts that are exposed to vibrations or cyclic movements in connection with the forming cycle. Discoloration of the form parts due to corrosion products will result in impaired functionality and also to discoloration of the plastic products. In order to avoid these problems the tool parts must be polished, which means that in time they will lose tolerance and new tool parts must be acquired.
A known tool material that is manufactured by the applicant and that is used in the present technical field is the melt metallurgically manufactured forming steel for plastics that is known under the trade name Stavax ESR®, having the nominal composition 0.38 C, 1.0 Si, 0.4 Mn, 13.6 Cr, 0.30 V, 0.02 N, balance iron and normal impurities. This steel has a good corrosion resistance and a very good finishing quality.
Yet another known tool material that is manufactured by the applicant and that is used in the present technical field is the melt metallurgically manufactured forming steel for plastics that is known under the trade name Stavax Supreme®, having the nominal composition 0.25 C, 0.35 Si, 0.55 Mn, 13.3 Cr, 0.35 Mo, 0.35 V, 0.12 N, balance iron and normal impurities. This steel has a carbide content of about 0.5% by volume and has a very good corrosion resistance and a very good finishing quality.
Another known tool material that is manufactured by the applicant and that is used in the present technical field is the melt metallurgically manufactured forming steel for plastics that is known under the trade name ELMAX®, having the nominal composition 1.7 C, 0.8 Si, 0.3 Mn, 18.0 Cr, 1.0 Mo, 3.0 V, balance iron and normal impurities. This steel has a good corrosion resistance and the wear resistance is good too, but it is desirable to further improve the properties. Depending on heat treatment, the steel normally has a highest hardness of 57-59 HRC in the hardened and tempered condition, which under certain conditions may be too low, resulting in impression damages when the tool is used, e.g. due to fragments of plastic that may be released when opening the tool and ending up between the tool halves when these are pressed against each other in the next forming operation.
Cold-working often comprises cutting, punching, deep drawing and other types of forming of metallic work pieces, usually in the form of sheets and normally at room temperature. Cold-working tools are used for this type of operations, on which tools a number of demands are put, which are difficult to combine. The tool material should have a good resistance against abrasive wear, an adequate hardness, and for some applications it should also have a good resistance against adhesive wear and also an adequate toughness in its working condition.
Sverker 21® is a conventionally manufactured steel with the composition 1.55 C, 0.3 Si, 0.3 Mn, 11.8 Cr, 0.8 Mo, 0.8 V, balance iron and impurities at normal contents, which steel has been widely used for cold-working and other applications.
The above mentioned steel, and other steels on the market, fulfil high demands on abrasive wear resistance and toughness. They do however not fulfil very high demands on adhesive wear resistance, which is often a dominating problem in different types of cold-forming tool applications, such as sheet pressing, pipe bending and cold forging of e.g. martensitic or ferritic steels, sheets of austenitic and ferritic stainless steels, copper, brass, aluminium etc. Such problems can be decreased by lubricating and/or coating, for example by PVD or CVD techniques, of the tool surfaces by friction-lowering ceramic layers of e.g. TiN, by surface nitration or by coating with hard chromium, but such solutions are expensive and time-consuming. Moreover, there is a major risk of damages on and/or flaking of the layers. Reparation becomes very complicated if abrasive or adhesive wear damages occur, as the damage is always on a part of the tool having a high strain. Abrasive and adhesive wear also occurs between different tool components.
In addition to the above mentioned properties, the tools should have very good corrosion resistance, high hardness, good wear resistance, good grindability, good machinability and high finishing quality, good dimensional stability, high compression strength, good ductility, good fatigue strength properties and high purity.
By solid phase nitration, powder metallurgically made materials can be given a high content of nitrogen, whereby they achieve a built-in nitrided layer. One example of such a material is the applicant's own steel that is marketed under the name VANCRON 40®, which is comprised inter alia in Swedish patent no. SE 514,410, having the following ranges of composition, in % by weight, 1-2.5 C, 1-3.5 N, 0.05-1.7 Mn, 0.05-1.2 Si, 3-6 Cr, 2-5 Mo, 0.5-5 W, 6.2-17 (V+2Nb), balance iron and unavoidable impurities at normal contents.
It is known from the article "Influence of nitrogen alloying on galling properties of PM tool steels", 6th International Tooling Conference, Karlstad Universitet 2002, that nitrogen, by together with carbon combining with vanadium in order to form M(C, N) carbonitrides and M6C carbides, has a positive effect on the anti galling properties of a tool steel.

Steel alloy and tools or components manufactured out of the steel alloy


A friction clutch, especially for motor vehicles, with a carrier plate, which interacts with a pre-damper and has friction linings and acts on a flywheel, especially a dual-weight flywheel. The flywheel is connected to the crankshaft of an internal combustion engine. The pre-damper has a cover disk and an intermediate disk. The carrier plate has a plurality of apertures, circumferentially distributed evenly on a graduated circle for the purpose of accommodating springs of the pre-damper. The cover disk is directly engaged with the carrier plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a friction clutch, especially for motor vehicles, with a carrier plate that interacts with a pre-damper and has friction linings and acts on a flywheel, especially a dual-weight flywheel. The flywheel is connected to a crank shaft of an internal combustion engine. The pre-damper has a cover disk and an intermediate disk.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A friction clutch of this type that interacts with a dual-weight flywheel is known, for example, from German reference DE 84 10 765 U1. In this case, the dual-weight flywheel and the carrier plate are each associated with a pre-damper. The pre-damper that interacts with the flywheel is responsible for damping the vibrations created by the inevitably unsmooth running of an internal combustion engine being operated with low torque, e.g., with the transmission in neutral. In this operational mode, the residual moment that reaches the hub of the clutch is very slight. As a result, movements transmitted from the side disks to the main damper of the flywheel cannot be damped by the main damper, because the spring forces of the main damper exceed the forces of the generated vibrations. The latter forces are initially passed from the side disks to the pre-damper and damped by means of springs with a lower spring force. Should the torque increase, the pre-damper will be connected securely to the hub disk in the rotational direction, and vibrations that then occur will be damped by the main damper.
The pre-damper, interacting with the carrier plate, eliminates the residual idle noises that occasionally occur depending on the strength of clutch engagement, especially in the case of dual-weight flywheels, and cannot be adequately damped by the dual-weight flywheel.
In the known friction clutch, the pre-damper is seated on the hub and is connected via the hub to the carrier plate. The known pre-damper has a hub disk (also called the intermediate disk) securely arranged on the inner hub. Arranged on both sides of the hub disk are cover disks, which are securely connected to each other. The inner cover disk, which faces the carrier plate, is connected securely to the outer hub. The cover disks as well as the carrier plate have apertures, in which torsion springs are disposed so as to be evenly distributed circumferentially. These torsion springs usually have a very low spring rate.
The pre-damper, because it is arranged behind the clutch carrier plate, enlarges the structural length of the clutch. The growth in vehicle optimization and the simultaneous increase in equipment variety of modem vehicles makes it necessary for all components to be as compact and short in structure as possible, so that they can be housed in the engine compartment, which is becoming smaller. Furthermore, to remain competitive, manufacturers must reduce part diversity and keep the number of individual parts low.


Semiconductor device fabrication equipment performs a PEOX (physical enhanced oxidation) process, and includes a remote plasma generator for cleaning a process chamber of the equipment. After a PEOX process has been preformed, a purging gas is supplied into the process chamber to purge the process chamber, and the remote plasma generator produces plasma using a first cleaning gas. Accordingly, a reactor of the remote plasma generator is cleaned by the first cleaning gas plasma. Subsequently, the purging gas is supplied to purge the process chamber, and the remote plasma generator produces plasma using a second cleaning gas to remove the first cleaning gas plasma from the remote plasma generator and the process chamber. Finally, full flush operations are performed to remove any gases remaining in the process chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor device fabrication equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to semiconductor device fabrication equipment for performing a physical enhanced oxidation (PEOX) process, and the present invention relates to a method of cleaning such semiconductor device fabrication equipment using plasma.
2. Description of the Related Art
The fabrication of semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuits, generally entails forming layers on a substrate such as a silicon wafer. For example, metal may be deposited on the substrate and patterned to form a conductive layer or an insulating layer may be formed on the substrate to electrically insulate one conductive layer from another. Various technologies have been developed for depositing the different materials that constitute the various layers on the substrate. In this respect, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process has been developed to form insulating layers, for example, on the substrate.
CVD processes include thermal deposition processes, in which precursor gas or vapor react in response to the heated surface of a substrate, and plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) processes, in which electromagnetic energy is applied to at least one precursor gas or vapor to transform the precursor or vapor into reactive plasma. The use of such plasma allows layers to be formed at a relatively low temperature and/or at a relatively high rate. Therefore, a plasma-enhanced process is more desirable than a thermal deposition process for many applications.
However, residue of a deposition process adheres to the walls of the deposition chamber and other components of the deposition system when a layer is being formed on a substrate. This aspect of the deposition process is generally undesirable because the residue can build up and become a source of particulate contamination for substrates subsequently processed in the deposition chamber. Several types of cleaning processes have been developed to remove the residue from the inside of the chamber. One type of cleaning process, known as a "wet cleaning" process, is performed by partially disassembling the deposition chamber and wiping the surfaces down with appropriate cleaning fluids. Other types of cleaning processes use plasma to convert the residue to a volatile product, and then use the exhaust system of the equipment to remove the volatile product from the deposition chamber. These processes are known as "dry cleaning" processes.
There are two general types of plasma dry cleaning processes. One type forms plasma inside the processing chamber, or in situ. The other type forms plasma in a remote plasma generator and then directs the plasma to flow into the processing chamber. The remote plasma cleaning process offers several advantages. For example, a remote plasma generator can be readily integrated with a deposition system which does not have an in situ plasma system to provide the system with the ability to perform a dry cleaning process. Furthermore, a remote plasma generator may be more efficient than an in situ plasma system in converting cleaning plasma precursor gas or vapor into plasma. Still further, when plasma is formed outside the chamber, as with the case of a remote plasma generator, the interior of the deposition chamber is protected from potentially undesirable effects of the plasma formation process, such as heat and sputtering effects.
A conventional dry cleaning process using a remote plasma generator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,297. In this process, the cleaning plasma formed in the remote plasma generator is diluted before the plasma is fed into the deposition chamber. As a result, the deposition chamber is more thoroughly, uniformly and rapidly cleaned. This dry cleaning process is applied to a PECVD system, which uses tetraethylorthosilane (TEOS) or silane, for example, to form a silicon oxide layer on a substrate. The system is cleaned by converting nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) precursor gas into plasma using a remote microwave plasma generator, diluting the remotely-formed nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) plasma with diatomic nitrogen gas (N2), and then introducing the mixture into the deposition chamber of the system through a gas inlet nozzle. The cleaning process may be applied to deposition systems that process 200 mm wafers, and can be scaled for use with deposition systems that process 300 mm wafers. Also, in this cleaning process, the amount of diluent can be adjusted to minimize the time required to clean the deposition chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,297 also discloses that the remotely generated plasma subsequently diluted with N2 can be used to etch the wafer. The flow rate of the etching plasma precursor may be controlled to optimize the plasma conversion efficiency and/or conserve the precursor, whereas the flow rate of the diluent may be controlled to produce a desired etching profile across the wafer and/or etch the wafer at a desired rate.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional CVD system 10, of a type manufactured by Novellus of San Jose, Calif., which can perform either thermal CVD or PECVD processes. The CVD system 10 basically includes a processing chamber 15 comprising chamber walls 15a and a chamber lid assembly 15b, a pedestal 12 disposed within the processing chamber 15 for supporting a substrate (e.g., a semiconductor wafer) to be processed, and a gas distribution manifold 11 through which process gases are fed into the processing chamber 15. The body of the pedestal 12 is made of aluminum or ceramics, for example, and has a flat (or slightly convex) surface 12a on which the substrate is supported. The pedestal 12 may also have a resistance heater (not shown) embedded in its body to heat the substrate during the process. The resistance heater may comprise a single resistive heating element in the form of two concentric circles. Power is supplied to the heating element through wires that pass through a stem 12c of the pedestal and out of the bottom of the pedestal where they are connected to an external power source (not shown). The pedestal may also have a radio frequency (RF) electrode and/or a susceptor.
The pedestal 12 is movable by a motor and transmission mechanism, including a ball screw, between a lower position and an upper position (indicated by dashed line 14) at which the pedestal is adjacent to the manifold 11. An unprocessed substrate is loaded onto the pedestal 12 or a processed substrate is unloaded from the pedestal 12 when the pedestal is at the lower position. More specifically, when the pedestal 12 is lowered, lift pins 12b of the pedestal contact a lift pin plate 33 and are thereby raised relative to surface 12a such that the pins 12b are at a height at which a substrate can be transferred by a robot (not shown) onto the pins 12b through an opening 26 in the side of the chamber. Subsequently, the robot is withdrawn from the chamber 15 and the motor is operated to raise the pedestal 12 to the upper position. At this time, the lift pins 12b are retracted into the pedestal 12 so that the substrate comes to rest on the surface 12a of the pedestal and is thereby raised with the pedestal to the upper position. A centerboard (not shown) has sensors for providing information on the relative position of the pedestal 12.
The CVD system 10 also has gas panel 6 including gas sources 7a-d, gas supply lines 8 connected to the gas sources 7a-d, respectively, and a mixing block 9 to which the gas supply lines 8 are connected. Each supply line 8 is typically provided with safety shut-off valves (not shown) along the length thereof. The shut off valves are operative to shut off the flow of gas through the line 8 automatically, either through local or remote control. Alternatively, the shut-off valves can be controlled manually to shut off the flow of gas through the line 8. The gas panel 6 also includes mass flow controllers (not shown) or other devices which control the flow of gas through the supply lines 8. Gases flowing through respective ones of the gas supply lines 8 are mixed in the mixing block 9 before being fed by the manifold 11 into the chamber 15. In addition, the gases fed into the processing chamber 15 through the manifold 11 are dispersed across the substrate by a perforated blocker plate 42 and a circular distribution faceplate 13a.
As mentioned above, the CVD system 10 can perform either thermal CVD processes or PECVD processes. The PECVD process may use plasma formed in situ or may use plasma formed in a remote plasma generator 27. Also, the substrate may or may not be heated during a PECVD process.
In a PECVD process in which the plasma is formed in situ, an RF power source 44 applies RF power between the gas distribution faceplate 13a and the pedestal 12 to form plasma in a reaction region between the faceplate 13a and the surface 12a of the pedestal 12. Constituents of the plasma react to form a desired layer on the surface of the semiconductor wafer supported on pedestal 12.
The RF power source 44 can be regulated to supply power at a high RF frequency of 13.56 MHz and/or a low RF frequency of 360 KHz. Using high and low frequencies to form the plasma enhances the decomposition of reactive species introduced into the processing chamber 15.
In a remote plasma process, a process gas from gas source 7a is supplied to a chamber 29 of a remote plasma generator 27. A microwave source 28 of the remote plasma generator 27 irradiates the chamber 29 with microwave energy to form plasma. The plasma flows through the gas distribution faceplate 13a into the processing chamber 15. When the plasma is formed by the remote plasma generator 27, the typical byproducts of plasma formation, such as high-energy photons and heat, do not directly affect the processed wafer or the interior of the processing chamber 15. Furthermore, some plasma precursor gases may be more efficiently dissociated in a remote microwave plasma generator than in a lower frequency in situ plasma system.
In a thermal process, the pedestal 12 is heated to heat the surface of the substrate, process gases are fed through supply lines into mixing block 9, and the resulting process gas mixture is fed into the processing chamber 15 and is dispersed across the surface of the substrate by gas distribution faceplate 13a. The process gas mixture reacts with the heated surface of the substrate to form a layer on the surface of the substrate.
The temperature of the walls 15a of the processing chamber 15 and surrounding structures, such as an exhaust passageway 23 and a shut-off valve 24, may be controlled by circulating fluid through channels (not shown) in the walls 15a of the chamber 15. The fluid can be used to heat or cool the chamber walls 15a depending on the desired effect. For example, a coolant may be used to remove heat from the system during an in situ plasma process, or to limit the formation of residue on the walls 15a of the chamber 15. On the other hand, circulating a heated liquid through the channels in the walls 15a of the chamber 15 may help maintain an even thermal gradient during a thermal deposition process.
Similarly, the gas distribution manifold 11 has heat exchange passages 18 through which heated fluid is circulated. Typical fluids that are circulated through the heat exchange passages 18 include water-based ethylene glycol mixtures and oil-based thermal transfer fluids. This heating of the gas distribution manifold 11 results in the heating of the process gases fed through the manifold 11, and beneficially minimizes or prevents reactants of the process from condensing on the walls 15a of the processing chamber.
The portion of the gas mixture that does not take part in the reaction which forms a layer on the substrate, as well as byproducts of the reaction, are evacuated from the chamber by an exhaust system that includes a vacuum pump 30. Note, the heating of the manifold 11 as described above helps eliminate volatile components of the process gases and other contaminants that might contaminate the process if they were to condense on the walls of the exhaust system and migrate back into the processing chamber during periods in which gas is not flowing through the exhaust system
The vacuum pump 30 is in communication with the processing chamber 15 via an annular orifice 16 that surrounds the reaction region, and an annular exhaust plenum 17 into which the annular orifice 16 opens. The annular orifice 16 and the plenum 17 are defined by and between an upper annular surface of a dielectric lining 19 provided on the side wall of the chamber 15 and the bottom circular surface of the chamber lid 20. The circular symmetry and uniformity of the orifice 16 and the plenum 17 help to create an essentially uniform flow of process gases over the wafer so that a uniform layer is formed on the wafer.
The gases exhausted through the exhaust plenum 17 flow through a lateral extension 21 of the plenum 17, past a viewing port (not shown), past a vacuum shut-off valve 24 (integrated with the bottom wall of the chamber 15), and into an exhaust outlet 25 of the exhaust system. A throttle valve 32 is interposed between the exhaust outlet 25 and a foreline 31 of the exhaust system to maintain a desired pressure and/or gas flow in the processing chamber 15. In some processes or during some portions of a process, the position of the throttle valve is set by a system controller 34 according to feedback from a pressure sensor (not shown) connected to the controller 34. In other processes or during some portions of a process, the feedback loop is disabled and the throttle valve is fixed in position. In any case, the draw of the processing chamber 15 can be modulated by the throttle valve while the vacuum pump 30 operates at a constant rate. A lift mechanism operated by a motor 35 moves up and down a heater pedestal assembly 12.
In addition to the throttle valve 25, the system controller 34 controls various subsystems and mechanisms of the CVD system 10 according to a program 70 stored in a computer-readable memory 38. Signals are transmitted to and from the system controller 34 through control lines 36, only a few of which are shown for simplicity. The controller 34 relies on feedback signals from sensors, such as optical sensors, to determine the position of movable mechanical assemblies, such as the throttle valve 32 and pedestal 12, and thereby operate the motors that operate the assemblies.
The memory 38 may be preferably a hard drive, but may be a read-only memory, a randomly addressable memory, a floppy disk drive or any other suitable auxiliary memory device. The processor 37 includes a single-board computer (SBC), analog and digital input/output boards, interface boards and stepper motor controller boards. Various parts of the CVD system 10 conform to the Versa Modular European (VME) standard which defines board, card cage, and connector dimensions and types. The bus structure has a 16-bit data bus and a 24-bit address bus to conform to the VME standard.
The system controller 34 executes the computer program 70 stored in the computer-readable memory 38 to control the deposition system to carry out a particular process. That is, the computer program includes sets of instructions that dictate the timing, mixture of gases, chamber pressure, chamber temperature, RF power levels, pedestal position, and other parameters of a particular process to be executed by the CVD system 10. Other computer programs stored in other memory devices including, for example, a floppy disk or other appropriate drives, may also be used by the controller 34 to command the various subsystems and assemblies.
The CVD system 10 is well-suited to carry out a PETEOS process. However, the system is not well-suited to carry out a PEOX process using SiH4, N2O and N2 gases. In this latter case, NF3 which is used by the remote plasma generator 27 to generate plasma used to clean the CVD system reacts with the SiH4 and thereby produces particles that contaminate the system. FIG. 2 shows the particles that contaminate a wafer processed in the system after a PEOX process has been carried out 50 times prior.

Semiconductor device fabrication equipment for performing PEOX process and method including cleaning the equipment with remotely produced plasma


This invention provides a lithographic process for multi-etching steps by using single reticle, wherein the develop step is performed next to a bake step after the photoresist layer has been exposed, such that a photoresist residue is formed on the peripheral region around a transformed pattern of the photoresist. Because the photoresist residue has thinner thickness compared to the photoresist layer, this kind of developed photoresist layer can be used as the very mask for multi-etching steps.

In conventional manufacturing liquid crystal display device process, lithographic process is a crucial step with high cost and high precise control. Array process with lithographic process is the most critical step particularly for liquid crystal display device for extremely large numbers of tiny thin film transistors are simultaneously formed on a huge substrate. Hence, decreased numbers of lithographic processes can promote manufacturing yield of liquid crystal display devices and reduce capitalized cost. From the array manufacturing process with six lithographic processes in former times to nowadays four lithographic processes, manufacturing cost of reticle and exposure times can be decreased when at least one reticle in lithographic process is reduced, and the necessary high precision steps can be reduced to progress product yield. Therefore, many researches and studies are focused on the reduction of reticles, and published many papers and patents.
Generally, the four lithographic processes can be applied to the manufacturing array process, because one reticle as well as one exposure process is used for two etching processes in which two patterns generated by the two etching processes are highly similar. A typical method is to use a reticle with optical correction such that photoresist layer after developed will generate different thickness, and thinner portion of this photoresist layer will be removed at followed etching steps to create masks with different patterns. Therefore, masks with different patterns by using one reticle and one exposure process can be implemented by using multi-etching process to replace original two masks by using two reticles and two lithographic processes.
One optical correction reticle is provided by Samsung. Slit structure is used in reticle design to make a portion of photoresist layer half tone at exposure in lithographic processes of thin film transistor array. Photoresist residue is formed in the half tone region due to insufficient exposure after developed. Thickness of the photoresist residue is thinner than typical photoresist layer, and then will be removed at some etching stage of following multi-etching process. Pattern of the photoresist mask is changed when the photoresist residue is removed, and two patterns of photoresist mask by using one reticle as well as one exposure step is implemented.
Another method for forming photoresist residue is to use reticle with different light transmissions. A lower transmission reticle is used at the region where photoresist residue is desired to be formed, and then the photoresist residue after developed is formed at the region of photoresist layer without sufficient exposure.
Another method again for forming photoresist residue is to use reticle with phase shift mask correction. The reticle with phase shift portion will generate destructive interference on the photoresist layer during exposure to result insufficient exposure at the desired region, and then photoresist residue is formed after developed.
However, the above mentioned lithographic processes all utilizes steps which development is after exposure and before baking step. The baking step after development will make profile of the photoresist layer deforms, and such deformed photoresist layer will make the following etching process fail.
Moreover, the reticles, no matter slit structure, varying transmission rate reticle, or phase shift mask, all are using optical correction. Nevertheless, reticles with optical correction will greatly increase manufacturing cost thereof. Using reticles with massive areas is an inevitable way especially for liquid crystal display device manufacturing from fourth generation to fifth generation, even to sixth generation, process. It is very difficult that extremely precise optical corrections are used in such a huge reticle and all optical corrections need to be identical everywhere. Hence, manufacturing yield of reticles is decreased significantly and even impractical.
Even though the above lithographic process can be implanted, other regions will be over etched at the following multi-etching steps to change patterns. A significant situation is that data line is opened at the mulit-etching steps.
Therefore, it is an important issue to provide another lithographic process for single reticle with multi-etching steps to preserve profile of developed photoresist layer and to generate a reticle with high production yield and lower cost.

Lithographic process for multi-etching steps by using single reticle


An adhesive resin composition comprising a polymer of a radically polymerizable epoxy resin (I) and a monomer (c), the radically polymerizable epoxy resin (I) being a reaction product between an epoxy resin (a) and a radically polymerizable monomer (b) having a function group reactive to epoxy group or hydroxyl group in said epoxy resin (a), having an equivalent ratio (b)/(a)=0.01.about.0.9 and said monomer (c) being copolymerizable with said radically polymerizable epoxy resin (I) and containing alkyl (meth)acrylate and/or a fluorine-containing unsaturated monomer serving as an indispensable component. The adhesive resin composition has an excellent adhesion between fluorine-contained resins and metal substrates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adhesive resin composition and, more particularly, to an adhesive resin composition effective in adhering fluorine-contained resins to metal substrates.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since fluorine contained resins have excellent hardness and are extremely resistant to abrasion, chemicals and solvents and have weatherability, they have very favorable properties for use as covering materials, and are extensively used as a coating materials on various substrates.
Fluorine-contained resins, however, are poor to adhere to various substrates. Even when coated on the surfaces of various substrates, the films formed are easily peeled off.
To improve the poor adhesion of fluorine-contained resins to, for example, metal substrates, a method for utilizing a composition as an undercoating, comprising an epoxy acrylate resin, a vinylidene fluoride resin, a methacrylate resin, etc is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 1-149800. Another method (or utilizing a composition as an undercoating is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-47176, which composition comprises a thermoplastic methacrylic resin and an epoxy and/or epoxy phenol resin.
However, the technique of coating fluorine-contained resins to metal substrates is not yet fully developed in that films formed are easily peeled off.
The present invention solves the above problem of the conventional art, and the object thereof is to provide an adhesive resin composition effective in adhering fluorine-contained resins to metal substrates.


A monopolar electrostatic chuck having a conductive pedestal base with a dielectric layer deposited thereupon. Upon the top surface of the dielectric layer is deposited a wafer spacing mask fabricated from a conduction material. The wafer spacing mask contains a plurality of support members that support a workpiece in a spaced apart relation with respect to said dielectric layer. At least one of said support members in said plurality of support members is adapted for connection to a power supply. The chucking voltage power supply is connected between the conductive pedestal base and the wafer support mask. In this manner, the workpiece is attracted to and thereby retained on the chuck without a plasma being generated proximate the wafer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a substrate support chuck for supporting a semiconductor wafer within a semiconductor processing system. More particularly, the invention relates to a monopolar electrostatic chuck having one electrode of the chuck contacting the supported wafer.
2. Description of the Background Art
Electrostatic chucks are used for holding a workpiece in various applications ranging from holding a sheet of paper in a computer graphics plotter to holding a semiconductor wafer within a semiconductor processing system. Although electrostatic chucks vary in design, they all are based on the principal of applying voltage to one or more electrodes in the chuck so as to induce opposite polarity charges in the workpiece and electrodes, respectively. The electrostatic attractive force between the opposite charges presses the workpiece against the chuck, thereby retaining the workpiece.
In semiconductor wafer processing equipment, electrostatic chucks are used for clamping wafers to a support pedestal during processing. The support pedestal may form an electrode as well as a heat sink or source. Such support pedestals are used in etching processes as well as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD) applications.
More specifically, the electrostatic chuck contains a chuck body formed of a layer of dielectric material covering a conductive pedestal base. In a unipolar or monopolar electrostatic chuck, a voltage is applied to the conductive pedestal base relative to some internal chamber ground reference. The wafer is retained by coulomb force between charge accumulated on the underside of the wafer and the voltage applied to the pedestal base. A plasma generated proximate the chuck supplies a conductive path for the wafer to ground.
This form of monopolar electrostatic chuck requires a plasma to be developed within the chamber before the clamping voltage can be applied to the pedestal base. Consequently, there is a chance that the wafer could move from its position upon the chuck body prior to electrostatic clamping becoming effective. Also, in PVD processing, the wafer is typically heated prior to deposition processing, i.e., prior to generation of a plasma. Therefore, monopolar chucks do not find much use in PVD applications because the plasma necessary for chucking is not available until wafer processing is begun. It would be advantageous if a clamping force of a monopolar chuck could be effective prior to the plasma being developed within the process chamber.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a monopolar electrostatic chuck that clamps !the wafer without the presence of the plasma within the process chamber.

Monopolar electrostatic chuck having an electrode in contact with a workpiece


A motor control device which controls rotation of a motor to which an object to be controlled is connected through a link mechanism, the motor control device comprising: a parameter input means configured to input information about operation start and end positions of the object to be controlled and parameters necessary for controlling the motor including at least rotation speed information of the motor; a position detection means configured to detect a position of the object to be controlled; and a driving control means configured to calculate a deceleration start position from the information about the operation start and end positions to drive the motor, and to perform a subtraction operation on the target rotation speed when it is detected that the object to be controlled has reached the deceleration start position to drive the motor.

On a vehicle, a wiper device is provided to wipe off rain, splashes from a preceding vehicle, etc. attached to a windshield and to secure a driver's view. The wiper device has a wiper arm whose oscillation is controlled by a wiper-driving device and a wiper blade abutting the windshield is mounted on a tip end of the wiper arm. The wiper arm on which the wiper blade is mounted performs a reciprocating motion, so that wiping of the windshield is performed. A link mechanism changes a rotational motion of a motor to a reciprocating motion and thus the wiper arm performs a wiping operation.
In such a wiper device, a wiper control device which controls overrun of the blade during inversion while suppressing variation in a wiping cycle (for example, see Patent Literature 1) is known. The wiper control device acquires an elapsed time and the target number of rotations of the motor, determines a current state of the blade by calculating a current position of the blade and the current number of rotations of the motor, and appropriately corrects the number of rotations of the motor based on the determined current state. First, a correction value of the number of rotations of the motor is calculated. Subsequently, a correction addition upper limit value is calculated by setting the correction target number of rotations from the correction value and the target number of rotations. Next, the upper limit number of rotations is calculated by adding the correction addition upper limit value to the target number of rotations. Then, an increase in the number of rotations of the motor is suppressed by setting the upper limit number of rotations as the ultimate target number of rotations from a result of comparison between the upper limit number of rotations and the correction target number of rotations. Thereby, a blade speed can be suppressed during inversion.


The present invention includes apparatus and methods for printing and verifying postage stamps on demand via a personal postage stamp printer. The indicium by which the stamp is printed includes a color stripe and a data field including authentication data that corresponds to the color stripe. To authenticate the stamp, the authentication data in the data field is read and compared with authentication data extracted from the color stripe.

This invention relates generally to the field of document security, and more particularly to printing and reading of document components to safeguard and verify the authenticity of a document.
It has been proposed to provide postage stamp printing devices that may be used by postal patrons to print their own postage stamps. However, it is an important consideration that counterfeiting of such postage stamps be deterred. More generally, it is desirable to provide printed security elements that are suitable for deterring counterfeiting of a wide variety of documents.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Document security utilizing color gradients


A method and apparatus for detecting and correcting motion artifacts in interlaced video signal converted for progressive video display. A correction is applied where interlaced video material is determined to originate from film source, thereby having been converted to video using a process known as 3-2 pulldown. Where the video material is not a result of the 3-2 pulldown process, a check is made for the presence of “pixel motion” so that corrections may be applied to smooth out the pixel motion. To determine 3-2 pulldown or field motion, a video field is compared to the field prior to the previous field to generate field error. Field errors are generated for five consecutive fields and a local minimum error repeated every five fields indicate the origination of the video material from film source using the 3-2 pulldown process. Upon confirmation of 3-2 pulldown, the video material is modified to correct for the mixing of two film frames into one interlaced video frame by assuring that the two fields of the de-interlaced video frame contain data from the same film frame. Where the video material did not originate from a film source, but pixel motion is detected, the pixel motion is smoothed out by an averaging method. The odd and even fields of the resulting video data are subsequently combined to form a progressive video material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of video compensation. More specifically the invention relates to detecting and correcting motion artifacts in video source signals.
2. Background Art
In North America the video displayed across a normal television screen is an interlaced video signal, which is a standard called NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) video. This is not the same video displayed across most computer screens since computer screens use mostly non-interlaced display devices.
Interlaced video simply means that for each picture frame displayed on the television screen, there are two video fields being displayed one after the other. The first field is commonly known as the odd field, and the second field as the even field. Since the interlaced video frame is displayed at 30 frames (i.e. 60 fields) every second, the odd field is displayed in the first one sixtieth ( 1/60) of a second while the even field is displayed in the second one sixtieth of a second.
Each display monitor comprises a series of horizontal and vertical lines. For example, the resolution of an NTSC television monitor is approximately 858 horizontal counts by 525 vertical lines. Actual resolution excluding blanking lines is 720 by 480. In a television display, the odd field of the interlaced video signal is displayed on the odd numbered (i.e. 1, 3, 5, . . . ) horizontal lines of the monitor and the even field is displayed on the even numbered (i.e. 0, 2, 4, 6, . . . ) horizontal lines. Thus, at brief instances of time, alternating lines of the television screen do not have any video display (i.e. are blank). However, because the display rate is faster than can be perceived by the human eye, a viewer is not able to discern the blanked lines.
Video is a linear medium like audio, unlike photography or film. A film camera captures the entire frame of a picture in a single instant. But video was originally designed to be transmitted over the air. Video images must be broken up and transmitted or recorded as a series of lines, one after the other. At any given millisecond, the video image is actually just a dot speeding across the face of the monitor.
One problem with NTSC is that it is an analog system. In non-analog systems such as computer video, numbers represent colors and brightness. But with analog television, the signal is just voltages, and voltages are affected by wire length, connectors, heat, cold, videotape, and other conditions. Digital data does not have such problematic characteristics. Thus, it would be advantageous to store or transmit video signals in a digital format.
Interlaced NTSC video must be converted to non-interlaced (i.e. progressive) video for display on devices such as computer screens. The conversion is generally performed in the digital domain therefore, the NTSC video signal must first be converted from analog to digital and then the odd and even fields are combined into one complete non-interlaced video frame such that the complete frame is displayed in one scan of the video signal.
Analog video inputs may be available in any of the different color models such as the C-Video, S-Video, or YUV (or YIQ). A color model (also color space) facilitates the specification of colors in some standard, generally accepted way (e.g., RGB). In essence, a color model is specification of a 3-Dimensional coordinate system and a subspace within that system where each color is represented by a single point.
The C-Video or Composite Video is a type of video signal in which all information—the red, blue, and green signals (and sometimes audio signals as well)—are mixed together. This is the type of signal used by televisions in the United States. The S-Video, short for Super-Video, is a technology for transmitting video signals over a cable by dividing the video information into two separate signals: one for color (chrominance), and the other for brightness (luminance). When sent to a television, this produces sharper images than composite video, where the video information is transmitted as a single signal over one wire. This is because televisions are designed to display separate Luminance (Y) and Chrominance (C) signals. The terms Y/C video and S-Video are used interchangeably.
The YUV or YIQ Color model is used in commercial color TV broadcasting. The Y generally stands for intensity (luminance, brightness) and thus provides all the information required by a monochrome television. The other two components carry the color (chrominance) information. Each model component may be represented in various bit depths. For example, the brightness component may range from 1-bit (black and white), to over 8-bit (usual, representing 256 values of gray) to 10- or 12-bit. Note that brightness, luminance, and intensity are used interchangeably in this specification.
Whatever the color model of the input, the incoming video signal may need to be converted to progressive video for display on non-interlaced devices. Video signals originate from various sources. For example, a video material may have originated from a film source, or may have been recorded using an interlaced video camera. In recent years there has been a proliferation of film material being converted to NTSC video for display on regular television. For example, movies stored on videotape usually originated from a film counterpart. Film data is shot at twenty-four frames a second (24 frames/sec) while NTSC data is at 30 frames a second (i.e. 60 fields/second) therefore the film data must be scaled in frequency from 24 frames/second to the NTSC rate of 30 frames/second (i.e. 60 fields/sec). To achieve this, a method called 3-2 pulldown is employed. Thus, 3-2 pulldown is a method for transferring film material that is at 24 frames per second to NTSC video at 30 frames per second. That is, 24 film frames in 30 video frames requires that four film frames be converted to five video frames (i.e. 24 to 30 every second).
FIG. 1 is an illustration of the mechanics of 3-2 pulldown. In this illustration, row 100 contains film frames f1-f7 that are mapped into row 106 comprising interlaced video frames v1-v8. Each interlaced video frame comprises an odd and an even field shown in row 104. For example, interlaced video frame v1 comprises interlaced video fields 1o and 1e, interlaced video frame v2 comprises interlaced video fields 2o and 2e, and so on for all the video frames up to v8. Row 102 represents the field frame numbers that are mapped into the respective video fields. As shown in row 102, film frame 1 (i.e. f1) is mapped into video fields 1o, 1e, and 2o; film frame 2 (i.e. f2) is mapped into video fields 2e and 3o; film frame 3 (i.e. f3) is mapped into video fields 3e, 4o, and 4e; film frame 4 (i.e. f4) is mapped into video fields 5o and 5e. This process continues whereby one film frame is mapped into three video fields, followed by the second film frame being mapped into the next two video frames. This three-two cycle repeats itself hence the process known as 3-2 pulldown.
Further, in this illustration of the 3-2 pulldown phenomenon, film frames f1-f4 are mapped into video frames v1-v5. Film frames f1-f4 and video frames v1-v5 must occur in the same ⅙th of a second to preserve the length of the material being converted. As shown, film frame f1 is mapped into the odd and even fields of video frame v1 and into the odd field of video frame v2, and film frame f2 is mapped into the even field of video frame v2 and into the odd field of video frame v3. This results in video frame v2 having film frame f1 in its odd field and film frame f2 in its even field, and video frame v3 having film frame f2 in its odd field and film frame f3 in its even field. Thus video frames v2 and v3 are composed of mixed film frames. The phenomenon known as field motion, illustrated by a "Yes" in row 108, occurs in video frames with mixed film frames.
When viewed on an NTSC television, the video generated from the 3-2 pulldown is visually tolerable to the viewer because television displays a single field at a time hence the video appears continuous. However, if the NTSC data originating from film source is subsequently converted to progressive video for display on a computer display, for example, a problem known as "field motion" may occur. Field motion occurs because each progressive video frame is displayed one at a time.
One method of generating progressive video material is to combine the odd and even fields of an interlaced video material to generate a frame of the progressive video material. Using a progressive material generated from film material, for example, progressive video frame v1 comprises film frame f1 in its odd and even lines. Progressive video frame v2 comprises film frame f1 in its odd lines and film frame f2 in its even lines. If film frames f1 and f2 are shot at different times and if an object has moved during that time, the object may be at different locations on film frames f1 and f2. Now, if the progressive video frame v2 is viewed in still frame, the object will be distorted. This distortion is what is known as "field motion". The distortion becomes more pronounced as the video material is scaled-up to fit higher resolution display devices.
Video Scaling
Video scalers are employed to change the size of an original video signal to fit a desired video output device. A scaler changes the size of an image without changing its shape, for instance, when the image size does not fit the display device. Therefore, the main benefit of a scaler is its ability to change its output rate to match the abilities of a display device. This is especially advantageous in the case of digital display devices because digital display devices produce images on a fixed matrix and in order for a digital display device to provide optimal light output, the entire matrix should be used.
Since a scaler can scale the output both horizontally and vertically, it can change the "aspect ratio" of an image. Aspect ratios are the relationship of the horizontal dimension to the vertical dimension of a rectangle. Thus, when included as part of a graphics switch, a scaler can adjust horizontal and vertical size and positioning, for a variety of video inputs. For example, in viewing screens, the aspect ratio for standard TV is 4:3, or 1.33:1; HDTV is 16:9, or 1.78:1. Sometimes the ":1" is implicit making TV=1.33 and HDTV=1.78. So, in a system with NTSC, PAL or SECAM inputs and a HDTV type of display, a scaler can take the standard NTSC video signal and convert it to a 16×9 HDTV output at various resolutions (e.g. 480 p, 720 p, and 1080 p) as required to fit the HDTV display area exactly.
Scaling is often referred to as "scaling down" or "scaling up." An example of "scaling down" is when a 640×480 resolution TV image is scaled for display as a smaller picture on the same screen, so that multiple pictures can be shown at the same time (e.g. as a picture-in-picture or "PIP"). Scaling the original image down to a resolution of 320×240 (or ¼ of the original size) allows four input TV resolution pictures to be shown on the same output TV screen at the same time. An example of "scaling up" is when a lower resolution image (e.g. 800×600=480,000 pixels) is scaled for display on a higher resolution (1024×768=786,432 pixels) device. Note that the number of pixels is the product of the two resolution numbers (i.e. number of pixels=horizontal resolution×vertical resolution). Thus, when scaling up, pixels must be created by some method. There are many different methods for image scaling, and some produce better results than others.
A scan converter is a device that changes the scan rate of a source video signal to fit the needs of a display device. For instance, a "video converter" or "TV converter" converts computer-video to NTSC (TV), or NTSC to computer-video. Although the concept seems simple, scan converters use complex technology to achieve signal conversion because computer signals and television signals differ significantly. As a result, a video signal that has a particular horizontal and vertical frequency refresh rate or resolution must be converted to another resolution or horizontal and vertical frequency refresh rate. For instance, it requires a good deal of signal processing to scan convert or "scale" a 15.75 KHz NTSC standard TV video input (e.g. 640×480) for output as 1024×768 lines of resolution for a computer monitor or large screen projector because the input resolution must be enhanced or added to in order to provide the increased capability or output resolution of the monitor or projector. Because enhancing or adding pixels to he output involves reading out more frames of video than what is being read in, many scan converters use a frame buffer or frame memory to store each incoming input frame. Once stored, the incoming frame can be read out repeatedly to add more frames and/or pixels.
Similarly, a scan doubler (also called "line doubler") is a device used to change composite interlaced video to non-interlaced component video, thereby increasing brightness and picture quality. Scan doubling is the process of making the scan lines less visible by doubling the number of lines and filling in the blank spaces. Also called "line-doubling". For example, a scan doubler can be used to convert an interlaced, TV signal to a non-interlaced, computer video signal. A line doubler or quadrupler is typically very useful for displaying images on TV video or TFT flat panel screens.
Because of the problems exigent in current conversion systems, there is a need for a system that enhances or improves the quality of video images by correcting the effects caused by converting the video signal from one type to another. For instance, current systems lack an effective way to eliminate field motion from interlaced video material during the conversion to progressive video.

Method and apparatus for eliminating motion artifacts from video


A display support device is provided, which is disposed at a rear surface of a display, such that the display is able to be suspended on a main support bracket arranged at a wall. The support bracket disclosed in the present invention is provided with one more hooks, for connecting the support bracket to the support bracket body. Furthermore, a positioning bar having a fastening function is pivoted on the support bracket body, so as to fasten the support bracket to a contact surface of the main support bracket by means of the positioning bar after being connected to the main support bracket, such that the main support bracket can be more firmly positioned, thus preventing the support bracket from releasing from the main support bracket due to vibration, and improving the fastness and safety in use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display support device, which is disposed at a rear surface of a display, such that the display is able to be suspended on a main support bracket by the support bracket, and more particularly, to a display support device capable of achieving more efficient firmness of a display after being suspended by means of fasten.
2. Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic view of suspending a display in the prior art is shown. As shown in FIG. 1, a support bracket 101 is disposed at a rear surface of a display 10, and an upper hook 1011 and a lower hook 1012 are formed on ends of the support bracket 101. Moreover, a main support bracket 11 is formed with an upper hook edge 111 and a lower hook edge 112, and can be arranged at a wall 12 in advance. The display 10, when intended to be mounted on the main support bracket 11, is hooked on the upper hook edge 111 and the lower hook edge 112 of the main support bracket 11 by its upper hook 1011 and lower hook 1012 respectively, such that the display 10 is secured on the main support bracket 11 by utilizing the engagement of the hooks and hook edges, and the purpose of effective fixation is achieved. Referring back to FIG. 1, as shown in the figure, the display 10 can be secured by the conventional fixation manner, however, it can be seen from the figure that the display 10 is fixed merely by hooking each of the hooks (1011, 1012) to each of the hook edges (111, 112), and in the case of vibration, for example, earthquake, the release of each of the hooks (1011, 1012) from each of the hook edges (111, 112) can occur. Because in this type of fixation manner, the display 10 is generally suspended on the wall 12 at a certain height, and might release from the main support bracket 11 in the case of earthquake above to fall onto the ground directly, which can lead to the damage of the display 10, and even hurt the persons nearby. Therefore, this type of fixation manner has certain risks in practical application.


A method and marking device for imprinting indicia on the surface of an article, in which a holding strip is adhesively secured onto the surface of the article by an adhesive coating on the strip, the strip supporting, on its opposite surface, marking elements which are separate and distinct from the strip. The marking elements have a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the strip and project from the strip so that under application of external pressure to the marking elements, the marking elements will be pressed into the surface of the article to leave an imprint of the marking elements therein. The strip with its marking elements is adhesively affixed to the article in the course of a production step in the manufacture and treatment of the article thereby avoiding the need for separate application of pressure to the marking elements.

Different marking systems are previously known, the purpose of which are to provide a marking sign upon the object to be marked. As one such system printing may be mentioned, the drawback of which often is i.a. the poor permanence of the mark on hard surface objects. Further relief letter arrangements and the use of press letters are known, the marking in question usually being temporary to its nature, and the generally poor surface adhesion of the marking constitutes no essential disadvantage. E.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,677 discloses an arrangement, wherein a pattern is pressed into an essentially soft material using embossing bodies fastened on the surface of a cylinder and coated with a separate chromium surface coating.
An object made of metal or the like material having a hard surface can, in a known manner, be marked using cutting or vibrating engraving means or arc machining, in connection with which material is removed from the marked spot. The above mentioned methods make a somewhat permanent mark into the surface of the object, but the complexity especially when the character string i long constitutes a disadvantage. A marking in connection with serial production further requires rather difficult control arrangements.
In marking formable materials it is further known, that the markings may be driven or pressed into the base material using die means shaped as a sign or a sign string. Thus the result will be an imprint in the object surface, the imprint having as such a good permanence and having the shape of the sign or the sign string. The disadvantage of this method has until now been the complex apparatus or alternatively the use of means demanding a great amount of labour as well as the difficulty of producing of special high precision die means. As an example of such means the solutions shown in DE-patent 26 56 615 and EP-application 266 545 may be mentioned.
Especially in connection with hose assemblies or the like there is a demand for making marks into the connector collar, wherein the manufacturer and the manufacturing date are indicated as reference marks using such essentially permanent markings that a recognition later is possible. Such hose assemblies are often manufactured in such a way, that a ductile collar-shaped sleeve means is compressed under high surface pressure around the end of the hose, so that the sleeve means which is deformed under said pressure presses into the hose and locks it against a tubular inner piece. In order to solve i.a. questions of guarantee it has proven necessary, that the collar comprises the above mentioned reference markings, which as such may be scarcely in view, but the permanence of which must be preserved even after rough handling. Further it is sometimes necessary to mark the type, nominal pressure and the like data into the assembly in such a way, that the data is clearly noticeable. For example product liability legislation today imposes very high demands with respect to permanent marking, and for example bar codes which are specific for an object constitute an important part of modern automatic material handling.
Except for individual markings the making of said marks is in practice performed by making a mark in each work piece utilizing a separate marking device or by using letter type dies or the like which are fixed in a press tool or with corresponding loose dies mounted in the tool. When the mark is made using a separate marking device the marking procedure further will require an accessory device and a further phase of work. On the other hand manufacturing loose or fixed letters types arranged in press tools, and especially the replacement of such letter types, is difficult. Fixed letter types or a groove for loose letter types is formed using arc machining, machine cutting or the like method. A separate locking screw is used for locking the loose letter types. Letter types further should be provided in all the different types of tools.
In order to solve these problems the arrangement according to the present invention has been developed, the characteristic features of which appear from the enclosed claims, which are thus incorporated as a part of this specification. In the method according to the invention a separate thin marking device assembly is interposed between the tool and the object to be marked, one or several figure portions of said assembly forming an essentially permanent imprint in the surface of the object. According to the characteristic features of the invention thin die means formed as figures and arranged on a separate, substantially thin holding device are placed between the surfaces of a tool and the object, whereafter the tool in a manner known per se is made to move against the object in such a way, that said die means will be at least partly made to penetrate into the object.

Method and means for marking a workpiece


The present invention is directed to a new class of triazine derivatives as described by formula I below in which A, X, R1, R2, R3, and R4 are as defined herein and to the use of the compounds as PDE10 inhibitors.

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are a class of intracellular enzymes involved in the hydrolysis of the nucleotides cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) into their respective nucleotide monophosphates. The cyclic nucleotides cAMP and cGMP are synthesized by adenylyl and guanylyl cyclase, respectively, and serve as secondary messengers in several cellular pathways.
The cAMP and cGMP function as intracellular secondary messengers regulating a vast array of intracellular processes, particularly in neurons of the central nervous system. In neurons, this includes the activation of cAMP- and cGMP-dependent kinases and subsequent phosphorylation of proteins involved in acute regulation of synaptic transmission, as well as in neuronal differentiation and survival. The complexity of cyclic nucleotide signaling is indicated by the molecular diversity of the enzymes involved in the synthesis and degradation of cAMP and cGMP. There are at least ten families of adenylyl cyclase, two of guanylyl cyclase, and eleven of phosphodiesterases. Furthermore, different types of neurons are known to express multiple isozymes of each of these classes, and there is good evidence for compartmentalization and specificity of function for different isozymes within a given neuron.
A principal mechanism for regulating cyclic nucleotide signaling is by phosphodiesterase-catalyzed cyclic nucleotide catabolism. There are 11 known families of PDEs, encoded by 21 different genes. Each gene typically yields multiple splice variants that further contribute to the isozyme diversity. The PDE families are distinguished functionally based on cyclic nucleotide substrate specificity, mechanism(s) of regulation, and sensitivity to inhibitors. Furthermore, PDEs are differentially expressed throughout the organism, including in the central nervous system. As a result of these distinct enzymatic activities and localization, different PDEs' isozymes can serve distinct physiological functions. Furthermore, compounds that can selectively inhibit distinct PDE families or isozymes may offer particular therapeutic effects, fewer side effects or both. PDE10 sequences were identified by using bioinformatics and sequence information from other PDE gene families (Fujishige et al., J. Biol. Chem. 274:18438-18445, 1999; Loughney et al., Gene 234:109-117, 1999; Soderling et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:7071-7076, 1999). The PDE10 gene family is distinguished based on its amino acid sequence, functional properties and tissue distribution. The human PDE10 gene is large, over 200 kb, with up to 24 exons coding for each of the splice variants. The amino acid sequence is characterized by two GAP domains (which bind cGMP), a catalytic region, and alternatively spliced N and C termini. Numerous splice variants are possible because at least three alternative exons encode N-termini and two exons encode C-termini. PDE10 is a 779-amino acid protein that hydrolyzes both cAMP and cGMP; the Km values for cAMP and cGMP are 0.05 and 3.0 micromolar, respectively. In addition to human variants, several variants with high homology have been isolated from both rat and mouse tissues.
PDE10 RNA transcripts were initially detected in human testis and brain. Subsequent immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the highest levels of PDE10 are expressed in the basal ganglia. Specifically, striatal neurons in the olfactory tubercle, caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens are enriched in PDE10. The tissue distribution of PDE10 indicates that PDE10 inhibitors can be used to raise levels of cAMP and/or cGMP within cells that express the PDE10 enzyme, for example, in neurons that comprise the basal ganglia, and therefore would be useful in treating a variety of neuropsychiatric conditions involving the basal ganglia such as Huntington's disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and the like.


A machine is disclosed for inserting terminals into cavities of a bobbin to terminate the ends of electrical windings. The machine includes a shear mechanism that separates the terminals from the carrier strip and then guides the terminals during insertion thereof. The shear mechanism includes a pair of links that form a toggle having a center pivot that is attached to the piston rod of an air cylinder. Movement of the toggle links in turn moves a pivoting lever that causes the shear blades to reciprocate. As the piston rod is made to extend, the links straighten and then pass center a small amount until a stop setscrew is engaged. As the links straighten the shear blades enter the die and sever the segments of carrier strip from the terminals. As the links pass over center the shear blade is partially withdrawn so that it clears features projecting from the sides of the terminals while a guide portion of the blade remains in guiding engagement with the severed terminals during insertion thereof.

Existing machines for terminating the ends of electrical windings of bobbins must be able to accommodate different styles and types of terminals. In all cases the terminal is severed from the carrier strip by a cutting blade and then it is inserted into a terminal receiving cavity of the bobbin. During insertion, the cutting blade remains extended to guide the loose terminal. In cases where the terminal has a lug or other projection extending beyond the sides of the terminal, this projection must be cleared by the cutting blade during insertion. This is accomplished by withdrawing the cutting blade, after severing, just enough to clear the projection yet the blade remains close enough to guide the terminal. The mechanism for performing the withdrawal is usually a cam and follower structure. Typically, a member having a cam slot is attached to the end of the piston rod of the air cylinder that actuates the cutting blades. A follower that is attached to the end of a pivoting member engages the cam slot, the other end of the pivoting member being coupled to the cutting blades for operation thereof. As the piston rod of the air cylinder extends, the cam slot causes the follower to move the end of the pivoting member so that the cutting blades extend and sever the carrier strip then withdraw a specific amount. The terminal is then inserted and the air cylinder reversed so that the follower rides back along the cam slot reversing the withdrawal motion and then retracting the cutting blades. The cam and follower mechanism in such machines is expensive to manufacture and is usually different for different terminal applications, thereby requiring setup time. What is needed is a machine that has a shearing mechanism that is adjustable so that the amount of cutting blade withdrawal can easily be adjusted to a desired amount or to no withdrawal in cases where there are no projections.

Shearing mechanism in a machine for attaching a terminal to a conductor


Apparatus and methods for reducing cross talk between electrical ports are described. An electronic device comprises a housing for electronic circuitry and has a plurality of ports for connecting electrical devices. Each port includes a connector connected by at least one electrical connection to the electronic circuitry. A connector shield is arranged to provide an electrically conductive loop around which an induced electrical current can flow to reduce cross-talk between ports. A shielding can is part of the connector shield and includes a body formed of a folded sheet of electrically conductive material and an electrical contact for electrically connecting the body to a connector. A face of the body defines a first aperture shaped to receive the connector so that the shielding can may be arranged about the connector to form a part of the electrically conductive loop. The method includes providing a connector shield arranged about each connector to provide an electrically conductive loop and inducing an electrical current to flow about the electrically conductive loop to reduce cross-talk between ports.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic device security and in particular to apparatus, parts, methods and system for improving the security of electronic devices to which other electrical devices can be attached by connectors to transfer data using electrical signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a wide variety of applications in which different electrical devices are connected to together to allow data to be sent, received, or exchanged using electrical signals. When security is an issue, the communication of data can be protected in a number of ways, including hardware approaches and software approaches and combinations thereof. An example of a software approach would be to transfer data using encryption. An example of a hardware approach would be to use physical measures to limit access or use of devices to authorised personnel. However, there are many ways in which security measures can be overcome or reduced.
For convenience and space saving reasons, there is often a requirement to use a single keyboard, mouse and video display (a KVM console) to control two or more computers. A group of products known as KVM switches are commonly available to address this requirement. In various government and commercial applications, it is also desirable to use KVM switches to connect to computers that are operating at different levels of classification or security whilst ensuring, as far as possible, that information does not leak between these systems. Typical applications for such secure KVM switches may be found within government agencies, banks, law enforcement, armed services, health providers and any other public or private organisation that wishes to protect the data that it is processing whilst also taking advantage of the desktop convenience that a KVM switch provides. Secure KVM switches have been available for many years from companies such as Black Box Corporation, Avocent, Belkin and others. Many such secure KVM switches are designed to meet the requirements of Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 4 and variously include a range of features that are designed to minimize the risk of data leaking between the connected computers or to the outside work.
It would therefore be beneficial to be able to provide an electronic device, or parts thereof, with enhanced security.


In response to a downshift operation (step S160) in a moving motor vehicle under an accelerator released state, a torque demand correction value Tα(T) is set to give the greater torque variation against the lower speed in a downshifting gear position and against the higher vehicle speed V, until elapse of a preset time period since the downshift operation (step S180). A torque demand Tr* to be output to a drive shaft of the motor vehicle is updated by adding the torque demand correction value Tα(T) to a previous setting of the torque demand Tr* (step S190). A motor is controlled to decelerate the motor vehicle with the updated torque demand Tr*. The torque variation thus attained is equivalent to a temporary torque variation applied to the drive shaft with a variation in rotation speed of an engine in response to a downshift operation in a conventional motor vehicle equipped with a stepped automatic transmission for torque conversion of the output power of the engine. The arrangement of the invention thus enables the driver of the motor vehicle to have the improved gearshift feeling.

A typical example of the motor vehicle driven with the motor having power generation capacity is a hybrid vehicle, where a generator, an engine, and a drive shaft linked to drive wheels are respectively connected with a sun gear, a carrier, and a ring gear of a planetary gear mechanism, and a motor is connected to the drive shaft (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. H10-295003). In a deceleration drive of this hybrid vehicle, the motor is under generative control with rotation of the drive wheels to produce regenerative electric power and charge a battery with the produced regenerative electric power. The generator is controlled to drive the engine at a required rotation speed for actuation of auxiliary machinery.

Motor vehicle and control method of motor vehicle


Described herein is a temperature device, including systems and methods associated therewith. The temperature device may include a housing. The temperature device may further include an actuation feature associated with the housing and configured to receive a user input. The temperature device may further include a sensing feature recessed within the housing and configured to detect a temperature condition in response to a receipt of the user input. The temperature device may further include a communication module operatively connected to the sensing feature and configured to transmit and receive information associated with a detection of the temperature condition.

Many buildings, campuses, floors, and the like, have security measures, such as on-duty guards, locked doors, gates, and the like, that help to limit and control the people that enter and/or exit the particular area. For example, many office buildings include gates, elevators, or turnstiles that require an access object, such as a key fob or radio frequency identification element, to open or activate. These types of measures help to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing select areas. However, many of these security measures and checkpoints are positioned within a building or other area, such as a reception area of an office floor. As such, these types of security measures may be inadequate in preventing contamination from persons carrying disease, bacteria, toxic elements, or the like. For example, a person having a disease, such as a viral infection, may interact with many surfaces within a building and/or with people within the building, before being denied access, putting people within the building or area at risk. Current solutions, such as on-site thermal detectors often require a close spatial range in order to detect certain characteristics (e.g., fever) and thus cannot screen access before contamination may occur.
Additionally, conventional thermal detectors are often quite bulky and difficult to store or transport, which make them inconvenient to use outside of select settings. Relatedly, many thermal detectors are not compatible with additional devices, such as smart phones, but rather are configured to operate as standalone products and not allow data transfer between devices.


A control panel and/or dashboard display system which allows a user to selectively configure at least one of position and characteristic, items displayed on the control panel and/or dashboard display system. A system is provided and includes an interactive database of menu items that is accessible by the user for selecting the items to be displayed on the control panel and/or dashboard display system using touch screen technology or actuatable buttons to select the desired displayed items and the appearance of the displayed items. The user has the ability to save the customized configurations to memory and to lock out change. Further provides for applications wherein said control/panel and/or dashboard display systems are used in multiple locations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display system in a land, marine or air vehicle and, more specifically, to a control panel and/or dashboard display system which allows a user to selectively configure at least one of position and characteristic, items displayed on the control panel and/or dashboard display system. A system is provided and includes an interactive database of menu items that is accessible by the user for selecting the items to be displayed on the control panel and/or dashboard display system using touch screen technology or actuatable buttons to select the desired displayed items and the appearance of the displayed items. The user has the ability to save the customized configurations to memory and to lock out change. The present invention further provides for applications wherein a plurality of said control/panel and/or dashboard display systems are used in multiple locations as on a ship's bridge and flying bridge and/or engine room.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous other display systems exist in the prior art. Typical of these are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,659,283; 4,442,424; 4,594,572; 4,630,043; 5,278,532; 6,253,122; 6,667,726; and International Patent Applications EP 0122043; JP 62059812; EP 0672891. While these display systems may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.

Configurable control panel and/or dashboard display


A support assembly for a work surface is disclosed. The support assembly may be secured to at least one gable. The support assembly includes an elongate horizontal support having a predetermined cross-sectional shape a saddle support which supports the work surface. The saddle support has a recess with a shape which corresponds to the predetermined cross sectional shape of the horizontal support. The recess receives the horizontal support therein to securely rest the saddle support on a top portion of the horizontal support. A U-shaped fastener secures an upper member of the horizontal support to an upper portion of the recess.

Adjustable, easily assembled, and modular furniture systems are particularly useful in office environments. Customers for such office furniture systems often demand work surfaces for boardroom tables or the like have a specific size or configuration, as well as having an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Suppliers of such furniture systems strive to design tables so that they can easily and securely be assembled into a variety of sizes and configurations.


An annular member is installed on a circular cylinder section of a trunnion, and a roller member, in the inner periphery of which a needle bearing is held, is installed on the circular cylinder section. The needle bearing is held between a flange section formed on one end of the roller member and the annular member installed on the trunnion with a predetermined gap between them. Further, a gap (X) between the needle bearing and the annular member is set to satisfy the following relationship. X>R/2·(1/cos θ max−1) where R: Radius of rotation of the center of the roller member relative to the center axis of an outer member. θ max: Maximum inclination angle of an inner member.

Heretofore, the drive power transmitting mechanisms of automobiles employ a constant-velocity joint for connecting a transmission shaft to another transmission shaft to transmit rotational power to axles.
FIG. 20 shows in cross section a part of a conventional constant-velocity joint 2 of the above type (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-184717).
The constant-velocity joint 2 comprises a tubular outer member 4 connected to a transmission shaft and an inner member 6 inserted in the outer member 4 and connected to another transmission shaft. The outer member 4 has three axially extending guide grooves 8 defined in an inner circumferential surface thereof. The inner member 6 has three trunnions 10 projecting respectively into the guide grooves 8. Rollers 14 are mounted on the respective trunnions 10 by needle bearings 12. The rollers 14 rollingly engage in the guide grooves 8 of the outer member 4.
With the conventional constant-velocity joint 2, in order to hold the needle bearings 12 against dislodgment from the rollers 14, circular grooves 16 are defined in the inner circumferential surfaces of the rollers 14, and the needle bearings 12 are press-fitted in the respective grooves 16.
For mounting a needle bearing 12 in a groove 16, all its needle bearing rollers except one needle bearing roller are annularly arrayed in and along the groove 16, and then the remaining needle bearing roller is press-fitted according to the keystone effect. In order to retain the needle bearing rollers neatly in the groove 16, the needle bearing rollers and the groove 16 need to be machined precisely for minimizing the tolerances of the dimensions of the groove 16 and the dimensions of the needle bearing rollers.
When a groove 16 is to be formed in the inner circumferential surface of a roller 14, since flanges 17a, 17b are to be provided on both sides of the groove 16, a machining tool is inserted into the groove 16 and cuts the groove 16. Chips produced when the groove 16 is cut need to be reliably discharged. Therefore, the machining process is highly difficult to perform.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-184717 discloses a technique for forming a round hole free of the flanges 17a, 17b and thereafter bringing two washers into engagement with the inner circumferential surface as a substitute for the flanges 17a, 17b, rather than forming the groove 16 in the inner circumferential surface of the roller 14. Though the round hole itself can easily be machined, it is necessary to machine engaging grooves where the washers are placed to engage the inner circumferential surface of the roller 14. It is also necessary to perform a process of bringing the washers into the engaging grooves.
In an attempt to solve the above problems, HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD. has proposed a constant-velocity joint 18 having a structure shown in FIG. 21 (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-210776).
The constant-velocity joint 18 includes an inner member 6 including a trunnion 10 with a larger-diameter portion 19 disposed on its proximal end. A roller 14 has a flange 17a disposed only on an end of the inner circumferential surface thereof in the direction in which the trunnion 10 projects.
With the above structure, the chips can easily be discharged when the inner circumferential surface of the roller 14 is machined or processed. A needle bearing 12 mounted between the trunnion 10 and the roller 14 is held in position between the flange 17a of the roller 14 and a step 20 provided by the larger-diameter portion 19 of the inner member 6.
Another conventional constant-velocity joint of this type is shown in FIG. 22 (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-208090).
As shown in FIG. 22, the constant-velocity joint has a roller mechanism 26 including a retaining ring 24 retained by a circumferential groove 23 and mounted on an axial end of a cylindrical inner circumferential surface 22 of a roller 21, and a retaining flange 25 disposed on the other axial end of the cylindrical inner circumferential surface 22 and integrally formed with the roller 21.
A plurality of needle rollers 27 are mounted on the cylindrical inner circumferential surface 22, and held in place by a support ring 29 that is fitted over the outer circumferential surface of a trunnion 28.
With the roller mechanism 26 disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-208090, the retaining ring 24 is disposed at a distal end 28a of the trunnion 28, and the retaining flange 25 is disposed at a proximal end 28b of the trunnion 28.