An iontophoretic device structure of the dissolution-on-use type is provided, wherein an ionized drug is transdermally or transmucosally administered into a living body. The device structure comprises (a) a non-polarizable electrode, (b) a hydrophilic, polymeric gel layer containing an ion exchange resin which is able to specifically inhibit the movement of ions dissolved out from the electrode while in use, and (c) a drug layer containing a drug in a dry condition in a drug retaining membrane, wherein when said device is in use, said drug layer is brought into contact with said hydrophilic, polymeric gel layer so that said drug in the dry condition is dissolved. A humectant may be contained in the hydrophilic, polymeric gel layer and/or the drug layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an iontophoretic device structure of the dissolution-on-use type which is useful for transdermal or transmucosal delivery of drugs or biologically active substances into living bodies in the medical field. It is to be noted that the term "drugs and biologically active substance" used herein may be sometimes referred to simply as "drugs".
2. Prior Art
Iontophoresis is a system of promoting transdermal or transmucosal absorption by the use of electricity as an external stimulation. In the system, the transmittance of the molecules of a drug or medicine through a skin barrier is promoted on the basis of the principle that, in the electric field produced between the anode and the cathode by application of an electric current, positively charged molecules of the drug are moved from the anode toward the cathode and negatively charged molecules are moved from the cathode toward the anode Journal of Controlled Release, Vol. 18, 213-220 (1992), Advanced Drug Delivery Review, Vol. 9, 119 (1992), and Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 3, 318-326 (1986)!.
Recent advances of synthetic technologies and genetic engineering lead to pure and mass production of naturally-occurring peptides or proteins, those peptides or proteins wherein their amino acid compositions are changed, or chemically modified derivatives thereof. The applications of these substances as drugs have now been expected. On the other hand, however, as studies on these peptides or proteins are in progress, it has been made clear that the diversity of biological activities of the peptides or proteins are physiologically controlled by the minute and complicated in vivo kinetics. In order to permit a peptide or protein to show the maximum medical efficacy on a specific disease and to suppress its side effect to a minimum, there has been required a system which enables one to strictly control the dosage of the peptide or protein. For instance, calcitonin has the capability of keeping the amount of bone from being reduced by suppression of the absorption of bone and is thus employed for the treatment of osteoporosis or Paget's disease. However, an excessive administration brings about a side effect such as inappetence. In addition, for the improvement of the treating effect, it is essential to repeatedly administer the peptide or protein.
It is known that some types of peptides develop different medical efficacies depending on the manner of administration thereof. For instance, parathormone exhibits different actions which are contrary to each other, i.e. a bone absorption-promoting action and bone formation-promoting action. When intravenously injected at a given rate, this hormone develops the bone resorption-promoting action, whereas the bone formation-promoting action is strongly developed by frequent administration through subcutaneous injection. In order to employ the parathormone as a drug for treating osteoporosis while expecting its bone formation-promoting action, the preparation thereof has to be of the pulse-release type, not of the slow release type. However, it is known that such a biologically active peptide or protein is usually decomposed in a digestive fluid in the gastrointestinal tract, or is hydrolyzed with a hydrolase present in the digestive tract walls, and thus is poor in an absorption efficiency. This means that any satisfactory medical efficacy cannot be expected when these biologically active peptides or proteins are orally administered. Thus, the usual practice is to administer them through injection. However, an injection causes a great pain to a patient, and is hence unsuitable for self administration, thus imposing a great burden on the patient. This will become so much the worse for the case where repeated, continuous administration is required, for example, as in the case of the afore-indicated calcitonin or parathormone.
In the pharmaceutical or medical field, attention has now been paid to iontophoresis which is a novel drug delivery system responsible for the administration of such biologically active peptides or proteins, and extensive studies have been made thereon. More particularly, if drugs which have conventionally been able to be administered only as an injection can be self-administered by a patient himself according to the iontophoresis, this will clear the way for treatment at home. The precise control in time of application of an electric current permits a desired absorption pattern to be created. Especially, in the supplemental therapy of an endogenous compound, it is conceivable to realize more effective therapy with the compound while taking the circadian rhythm of a living body into account.
On the other hand, extensive studies have been made on the devices to be employed for the iontophoresis so as to have drugs transdermally absorbed in an efficient manner. The device has a fundamental structure which includes a layer containing an electrolyte, and a layer comprised of at least a partially ionized drug. A porous membrane such as a non-woven fabric is used, for example, as the drug layer. During use, a potential is applied via an electrode which has been preliminarily disposed in the electrolyte layer or on the upper surface thereof, so that the drug is delivered to a living body from the surface such as of the porous membrane via the skin.
However, such devices have a number of defects to be overcome. For instance, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 63-502404 sets out a device which includes a cavity containing an electrolyte, another cavity containing at least a partially ionized drug, and an ion exchange membrane provided between the cavities and capable of suppressing the movement of competitive ions produced from electrodes. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,250,022 and 5,362,308, there are proposed devices which include a housing provided with a first chamber accommodating an electrolyte therein and a second chamber accommodating an ionized drug, wherein the first chamber comprises an ion exchange resin for suppressing the movement of competitive ions produced from electrodes and also a semi-permeable membrane for preventing the drug from being reversely diffused.
However, these devices commonly have the problem that when dried, the ion exchange membrane cracks, with the great possibility that the ion selectivity lowers considerably. Avoiding the problem leads to the disadvantage that the steps of fabricating the devices become more complicated. In both United States Patents, the ion exchange resin and the semi-permeable membrane are employed in the first chamber. Where the semi-permeable membrane and the first chamber portion are poorly bonded, there is the apprehension that the drug is reversely diffused through the gap formed between the membrane and the first chamber portion. Moreover, as having set out hereinabove, these devices essentially require an additional ion exchange membrane, or the provision of an ion exchange resin and a semi-permeable membrane, with their structures becoming complicated.
On the other hand, where a drug contained in devices is in the form of a solution and is thus unstable and, especially, where the drug consists of a biologically active peptide or protein, it undergoes a non-reversible change, such as hydrolysis, association or coagulation, in the solution. This results in the lowering of activity during storage or prior to the use of the device. In order to overcome this problem, it is convenient to use a device of the dissolution-on-use type wherein a drug is preserved or kept in a dry condition. For instance, WO93224177 sets forth a device of the type which comprises a reserver layer containing an electrode and a drug, both in a dried condition, and a water supplying layer disposed above the reserver layer wherein when a tab provided between both layers is removed, the drug is dissolved. Moreover, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 63-102768 sets out a device wherein capsules for water supplement are incorporated into an electrode and a drug layer in a dry condition.
However, these devices have such a special structure capable of holding the liquid compartment that the device structure becomes complicated as a whole. In addition, when using an ion exchange membrane having an ion selective function or a combination with an ion exchange resin, the resultant device becomes more complicated in structure. Hence, the fabrication of these devices requires correspondingly a greater number of steps, presenting the problem that the fabrication costs become very high.
Aside from the above-stated problems involved in the hitherto known iontophoretic devices, we found through observation of this type of device having been actually made by us that prior to the use of the device, the reverse diffusion of a drug and the ionization of an electrode-constituting metal were observed. Not only the reverse diffusion and the ionization impeded the performance of the device on use, but also the metal ions arrived at a skin at an early stage where they were absorbed in the living body, thereby causing damages thereto. Additionally, it was also found that as the dissolved-out metal ions moved, they served to impede the movement of a drug to be delivered from the device and the transdermal absorption thereof.
In order to solve the problems of the prior art iontophoretic devices, we made intensive studies and investigations on this type of device. As a result, it was found that when the device is arranged to be of the dissolution-on-use type wherein a hydrophilic, polymeric gel layer dispersing an ion exchange resin therein is provided between a non-polarizable electrode and a drug layer, metal ions can be specifically prevented from being dissolved out from the non-polarizable electrode, and the reverse diffusion of a drug prior to the use of the device can be appropriately prevented. By this, the device ensures the long-term capability of an electric current being applied thereto so that the drug can be reproducibly, transdermally administered at high bioavailability. The invention has been accomplished based on the above findings.


In a disk drive, a contact write current that causes head-disk contact due to pole tip protrusion is detected using a variance of a position error signal (PES). A method of determining the contact write current includes generating PES's in response to the head reading servo sectors on the disk, calculating PES variances wherein each PES variance is a statistical measure of a different group of the PES's, calculating a change in the PES variances, and selecting the contact write current in response to the change in the PES variances.

Data storage devices include those normally provided in connection with a host computer or other electronic device. In one general category, data is stored on a fixed or rotating (or otherwise movable) storage medium and a read/write head is positioned adjacent to desired locations of the storage medium for writing data thereto or reading data therefrom. A data storage device of this type is a disk drive.
Disk drives store information on magnetic disks. Typically, the information is stored in concentric tracks on the disk and the tracks are divided into servo sectors that store servo information and data sectors that store user data. A head (or transducer) reads from and writes to the disk. The head is mounted on an actuator arm that moves the head radially over the disk. Accordingly, the actuator arm allows the head to access different tracks on the disk. The disk is rotated by a spindle motor at high speed, allowing the head to access different data sectors on the disk. The head may include separate or integrated read and write elements.
FIG. 1 illustrates a disk drive 10 that includes a disk 12 that is rotated by a spin motor 14. The spin motor 14 is mounted on a base plate 16. The disk drive 10 also includes an actuator arm assembly 18 having a head 20 mounted on a flexure arm 22, which is attached to an actuator arm 24 that rotates about a bearing assembly 26 that is attached to the base plate 16. The actuator arm 24 cooperates with a voice coil motor 28 to move the head 20 relative to the disk 12. The spin motor 14, the head 20 and the voice coil motor 28 are coupled to electronic circuits 30 mounted on a printed circuit board 32. The electronic circuits 30 include a read channel, a microprocessor-based controller and a random access memory (RAM). The disk drive 10 may include multiple disks 12 and therefore multiple actuator arm assemblies 18.
FIG. 5 is a top view of a disk 512 having a disk surface 542 which has embedded servo information. The disk surface 542 includes concentric tracks 544a–544h. Each track 544 is divided into data sectors 546 and servo sectors 548. The servo sectors 548 in each track 544 are radially aligned with the servo sectors 548 in the other tracks 544, thereby forming servo wedges 550 which extend radially across the disk surface 542 from the disk's inner diameter 552 to its outer diameter 554. Although a relatively small number of tracks 544 are shown for ease of illustration, it should be appreciated that typically tens of thousands of tracks 544 are included on the disk surface 542.
During a seek operation, the head 20 is moved from a present track to a target track so that a data transfer can be performed with the target track. In addition, a current is delivered to the voice coil motor 28 which causes the actuator arm 24 to rotate, thereby moving the head 20 radially relative to the disk 12.
During a track following operation, the head 20 is maintained over the target track using a position error signal (PES) based on servo information that the head 20 reads from the servo sectors in the target track.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the disk 12 and the head 20. The head 20 (which includes a slider) is located above a disk surface 42 by a flying height 100. The flying height 100 is created by the interaction between air currents above the disk surface 42 (also known as an air-bearing) caused by rotation of the disk 12 and the aerodynamics of the slider of the head 20.
It is important to maintain the flying height 100. For example, if the head 20 flies too low, it is more likely to contact the disk 12, which could cause stored data to be lost. As another example, if the head 20 flies too low, a particle resting on the disk surface 42 may attach to the head 20 and change the aerodynamics of the head 20.
FIG. 3 is an air-bearing surface view of the head 20 which illustrates a write portion 110 of the head 20 and a read portion 120 of the head 20. For clarity, the slider of the head 20 is not shown. The write portion 110 includes a write pole 130 and a return 135. The read portion 120 includes a magneto-resistive (MR) read element 140 along with first and second shields 142, 144. The direction of disk rotation is shown by arrow 150 such that the write pole 130 follows the read element 140.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional, side view of the head 20 that illustrates a write coil 155, a write gap 160 and a read gap 165. The write portion 110 writes perpendicular magnetic polarity transitions onto the disk surface 42. Perpendicular recording is well-known in the art and requires a disk that is capable of having perpendicular magnetic polarity transitions recorded thereon, for example, by including a soft magnetic underlayer.
During a write operation, a variable write current is supplied to the write coil 155 to induce magnetic flux across the write gap 160. The direction of the write current defines the direction in which the magnetic flux is oriented across the write gap 160. In simple recording systems, magnetic flux polarized in one direction across the write gap 160 records a binary one while magnetic flux polarized in the opposite direction records a binary zero. In most recording systems, a change in the direction that the magnetic flux travels across the write gap 160 records a binary one while the lack of such change records a binary zero. As the disk 12 travels under the write portion 110, a series of ones and zeros are written to the disk surface 42.
During a read operation, the first and second shields 142, 144 define the read gap 165 which focuses the magnetic flux for a particular magnetic polarity transition onto the read element 140 by shielding the read element 140 from other sources of magnetic flux. In other words, extraneous magnetic flux is filtered away from the read element 140 by the shields 142, 144. The read element 140 generates a read signal in response to the changing magnetic flux which corresponds to previously recorded data as the magnetic polarity transitions in the disk 12 pass underneath it.
The write portion 110 and the read portion 120 are located near the trailing edge of the head 20. Furthermore, the head 20 is pitched relative to the disk surface 42 such that the trailing edge is closest to the disk surface 42 (see FIG. 2). Since the write portion 110 trails the read portion 120, the write portion 110 (specifically the write pole 130) is closest to the disk surface 42. In addition, the write pole 130, the return 135, the read element 140, the first shield 142 and the second shield 144 share a common plane 175 at an air-bearing surface which faces the disk surface 42.
Disk drives usually store information on disks using longitudinal recording as opposed to perpendicular recording. However, the heads associated with longitudinal recording may be very similar to the head 20 in that the write pole, return, read element, first shield and second shield share a common plane.
Although the manufacture, distribution and use of disk drives follow a number of models, tests are usually performed following assembly of a disk drive before it is delivered to a user. The tests include performance, reliability and environmental tests. Environmental tests measure how the disk drive reacts to temperature, pressure or other environmental factors. For example, environmental tests may store information to control the magnitude of the write current as a function of ambient temperature since a high write current may be needed before the disk drive warms up.
Likewise, servo information is usually provided in the servo sectors before the disk drive is delivered to a user. Servo information includes sector markers or identifiers and track markers or identifiers and is typically used for generating the PES to position the head relative to the disk during read and write operations in which user data is received from or sent to a host computer.
The general trend in data storage devices including disk drives is higher data density on the storage medium. Higher data density permits a physically smaller data storage device for a given storage capacity and can also enhance performance (such as reducing seek times). Higher data density often requires a reduction in flying height. However, pole tip protrusion causes difficulties at reduced flying height. Pole tip protrusion refers to thermal expansion of the tip of the write pole 130 towards the disk 12 in response to the write current. At moderately high write currents during prolonged write operations, the write pole 130 may protrude sufficiently to contact the disk 12, especially if the flying height is small. Pole tip protrusion can result in data loss where the write pole 130 contacts the disk 12.
A previous approach to detecting head-disk contact involves detecting write faults caused by the PES going outside a write inhibit window. However, this approach is less sensitive than desired since head-disk contact is not always detected.
Another previous approach to detecting head-disk contact involves detecting thermal asperities, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,219. While the thermal asperity approach provides acceptable results for contact recording, there is substantial room for improvement for non-contact recording (in which the head flies over the disk).
Accordingly, it would be useful to provide an improved approach for detecting head-disk contact as well as determining the contact write current at which head-disk contact occurs or is likely to occur.

Determining contact write current in disk drive using position error signal variance


A method for producing a color filter for an image sensor capable of obtaining pixels each constituted substantially into a rectangular shape and having a favorable cross-sectional pattern profile and capable of effectively preventing the deformation of a dye-containing pixel even in a case of conducting post-baking or the like, the production method comprising the processes of coating a dye-containing photo-curable composition on a substrate directly or by way of another layer, then drying to form a coating film, exposing the coating film, putting the exposed coating film to alkali development and irradiating a Ultraviolet radiation to alkali-developed coating film while heating at 20 to 50° C.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for producing a color filter for an image sensor suitable to formation of colored images of a highly fine color filter used in an image sensor (CCD, CMOS, etc).
2. Technical Background
As a method of producing a color filter for use in an image sensor, a dyeing method, a printing method, an electrodeposition method and a pigment dispersion method have been known. Among them, the pigment dispersion method is a method of using a colored radiation-ray sensitive composition in which a pigment is dispersed in various photosensitive compositions and producing color filters by a photolithographic process, and since the pigment is used, the obtained coating film is stable to light, heat or the like. Then, since patterning is conducted by the photolithographic process, the positional accuracy is high and it is used generally as a method suitable to production of a color filter for use in large screen and highly fine color display.
In the production of the color filter by the pigment dispersion method, a ray-sensitive composition containing a pigment is coated and dried on a glass substrate or the like by a spin coater or a roll coater, to form a coating film and the coating film is exposed patternwise and further developed. Then, a heat treatment (post-baking) process is applied for improving the solvent resistance, development resistance and heat resistance of the resultant pattern images to promote hardening of the coating film thereby obtaining permanent coating films of high durability. By way of the processes described above, the processes after the second color can be conducted stably as much as possible and a color filter can be obtained by repeating the operation for several times in accordance with a desired number of hues.
Then, in a case of producing a color filter for use in a liquid crystal display device, a light shielding layer referred to as a black matrix is usually disposed with an aim of improving the contrast for shielding light between each of color pixels. Accordingly, a pattern of a forward taper is usually formed as a pattern profile for each of the pixels in order that a gap is not formed between each of the pixels and the black matrix.
On the contrary, in a case of a color filter for use in an image sensor, since highly fineness and high density with the length for one side of a pixel being 5 μm or less is desired, it is necessary to make each of the pixels independent without providing the black matrix or the like. However, since each of the pixels is made independent, disadvantage often occurs upon forming each of the pixel to result in a problem that a pixel with a rectangular profile for the pattern cross section can not be obtained. The disadvantage includes occurrence of "tailing" in which pattern images are deformed in the direction of increasing the contact area with the substrate, or "thermal flow" in which corners of a pixel are rounded upon conducting the post-baking. The tailing or thermal flow is a minutes deformation of the pattern which gives no problem in existent large pixels but entails decrease of the film thickness or color mixing since the inter-pixel distance is shortened in a small pixel and each of the pixels can not be constituted with a desired color. Particularly, in a color filter for use in an image sensor requiring highly fineness, the pattern profile for each pixel is one of important factors.
Further, in a case of the pigment dispersion type described above, since the grain size of the pigment is large to scatter the Ultraviolet radiation upon exposure, the resolution power is not improved and, accordingly, this imposes a limit on coping with the requirement of higher fineness. Further, since the grain size of the pigment has a distribution, it is difficult to form a uniform pixel with no color shading and it has a limit for the application use of the image sensor that requires a fine pattern. As a technique for overcoming the problems described above, JP-A No. 6-75375 described an example of using a dye thereby improving the resolution power and making the color distribution in the pixel uniform.
For the method of using the dye, a dying method of forming pattern images on a substrate by using a photosensitive composition containing a dye and subsequently dyeing the thus formed pattern images. However, the dyeing method involves a problem that it is difficult to control the degree of dyeing and the processes are complicated compared with other methods. Accordingly, as means for overcoming the drawbacks of the dyeing method and the pigment dispersion method, a method of producing a color filter for an image sensor by using a photosensitive composition containing a dissolved dye has been studied.
Particularly, in an application use for image sensors, it has been required to decrease the thickens of a color filter in view of a commercial demand of decreasing the size of image sensors and, specifically, it is required that the thickness is 1.5 μm or less. In order to maintain a sufficient chromaticity in a color filter for such a reduced film thickness, it is necessary to incorporate a great amount of a dye in a hardenable composition that forms a color filter (at least by 10% by mass or more in solid content). However, in a case where the content of the dye is increased excessively, since the ratio of the curable component is decreased relatively, the photo-curability of the composition, heat resistance after photo-curing, developability in a non-cured portion and the film thickness retention of the photo-cured portion are lowered. Then, they involve significant problems of resulting lowering of the film thickness retention in the photo-cured portion during the development process to lower the chromaticity, and further pattern deformation entailing 'tailing' or 'thermal flow' during post-baking to change the chromaticity.
Particularly, the problem of the pattern deformation during the post-baking is conspicuous in the dye system with a larger content compared with the pigment system. The pigment system color filter by the pigment dispersion method described above has high heat resistance for the entire photo-cured film due to the dispersion of the heat stable pigment in the cured film and can provide a pattern of less losing the shape due to "filler effect" thereby less resulting in the problem of the pattern deformation described above.
As described above, since the highly fineness is required in the color filter for use in the image sensor, a dye-containing curable composition has been studied. Particularly, for satisfying also the requirement for reducing the film thickness together with higher fineness, it is necessary that the dye is incorporated at a high concentration in the curable composition that forms the color filter. However, "filler effect" as in the pigment system can not be expected in a case of the dye system. Accordingly, the dye present at high concentration in the cured film results in deterioration of the film property and, as a result, entails tailing or thermal flow to worsen the pattern profile of the pixel.
In connection with the situations described above, JP-A No. 2000-19728 describes a technique of containing a 1,3,5-triazine derivative and N-phenyl glycins in combination in a photo initiator component as a technique of obtaining pixels with good pattern profile. However, since the method is directed to the pigment system, this can not improve the worsening of the pattern profile which may possibly occur in a case of the dye system.
Further, JP-A No. 11-153708 describes applying Ultraviolet radiation irradiation (together with heating) to a film after development by using a pigment type resist. However, this is also directed to the pigment system and does not intend to ensure the resist shape as an object of post-baking but intend to prevent thermal decomposition of an underlying flattening film during the post-baking. Further, application of Ultraviolet radiation irradiation together with post-baking by using the pigment system composition has been also be known, for example, in JP-A No. 10-339959; This method is also directed to the pigment system in which Ultraviolet radiation irradiation is also conducted in addition to a drying treatment (post-baking) with an aim of preventing color contamination at or after the second color. Further, a technique of applying Ultraviolet radiation irradiation together with heating to a positive type resist film has also been known, for example, in JP-A No. 10-261571. In a case of the positive type resist, heating and UV light irradiation are further conducted to a non-irradiation region upon pattern formation, that is, to a not yet reacted region. None of them concerns the dye system. Accordingly, it does not intend to overcome the worsening of the pattern profile which comes into question when constituted as a dye system that requires a great amount of the dye as described above and discloses nothing about the pattern profile.
Further, a method for producing a solid image device by using a dye system photosensitive composition is also disclosed in JP No. 3309514. In this method, the photo-curing temperature is elevated to 60 to 200° C. and elevation to the temperature is conducted gradually thereby intending to promote curing while avoiding the heat deformation by rapid heating in a case of applying heating together with light for improving the photo-curing efficiency with a view point of merely preventing deformation by heating. However, in a case of the application use for the image sensor constituted with a fine pattern, even gradual temperature elevation within the temperature range described above is still insufficient to completely avoid deformation caused by the tailing or thermal flow of the pattern.
In addition to those described above, it has also been proposed to improve the heat resistance or the like by using a photosensitive polymer compound introduced with a photosensitive vinyl group by way of an isocyanate group as described in JP-A No. 6-230212, or improve the heat resistance of pattern after curing by using an acrylic resin with addition of an unsaturated carboxylic acid to a polymer comprising a monomer having an epoxy group and an unsaturated double bond as described in JP-A No. 9-106072. However, since the alkali soluble resin has no double bond in the former, the pattern profile has not yet been improved so as to be suitable to an image sensor requiring high fineness and high density. Further, since heat curing is conducted above 200° C. in the latter, discoloration of a dye may possibly occur in a case of using a dye sensible to heat.    [patent document 1] JP-A No. 6-75375    [patent document 2] JP-A No. 2000-19728    [patent document 3] JP-A No. 11-153708    [patent document 4] JP-A No. 10-339959    [patent document 5] JP-A No. 10-26157    [patent document 6] JP No. 3309514    [patent document 7] JP-A No. 6-230212    [patent document 8] JP-A No. 9-106072

Method for producing color filter for image sensor


In combination, a storage tank having a metal bottom, compacted electrolytic backfill below the tank bottom and a cathodic protection anode within the backfill below the tank bottom. The anode is in the form of a generally continuous ribbon that is shaped to follow a serpentine path corresponding generally in shape to the tank bottom. A feeding cable network is connected directly to the anode.

Exterior metal structures including but not limited to above-ground storage tanks which are supported on the ground, are subject to corrosion especially the portions of the metal structures in close proximity to the ground. As will be appreciated, in the case of exterior storage tanks, the tank bottoms can become moist and remain moist as a result of ground moisture, under-tank condensation or seam leakage. It is important to protect tank bottoms from corrosion in order to preserve assets, reduce maintenance costs, reduce inspection costs, often as a regulatory requirement, and to preserve the environment.
As is well known, cathodic protection is a technique to control the corrosion of a metal surface by making that surface the cathode of an electrochemical cell i.e. the application of direct current to reverse the natural tendency for metals to return to their natural condition as metal oxides (rust). Many cathodic protection systems to prevent corrosion of metal structures have been considered.
New and rebuilt ground storage tanks make use of an environmental safety secondary containment liner in the form of a plastic membrane that is spaced a short distance beneath the metal tank bottom and supported on compacted earth. The secondary containment liner is designed to contain leaks to prevent ground contamination. Unfortunately, because of the dielectric properties of the secondary containment liner, conventional and widely accepted cathodic protection methods, such as those using remote deep anodes or distributed anodes around the tank are not effective for use with such new and rebuilt storage tanks. Placing the anodes outside the secondary containment liner does not work as the dielectric secondary containment liner effectively blocks the required current flow from such anodes to the tank bottom. As a result, to be effective, the anodes have to be placed in the relatively narrow space between the secondary containment liner and the tank bottom.
Galvanic cathodic protection systems making use of zinc or magnesium ribbon anodes have also been considered. The galvanic ribbon anodes are typically installed in parallel lengths between the secondary containment liner and the tank bottom floor. Although effective, because of the large volume of anode material required to cover fully the tank bottom, these cathodic protection systems have proven to be quite costly for large diameter tanks. In addition, the life of such galvanic cathodic protection systems is limited and usually not commensurate with the design life of the storage tank.
In cathodic protection systems, it is important for the anode to be uniformly spaced from the tank bottom. If the anode is not substantially uniformly spaced from the tank bottom, a near short may occur resulting in non-uniform distribution of the protective current in the tank bottom resulting in the storage tank being prone to corrosion. It is also important that the anode not touch the tank bottom. If the anode touches the tank bottom, a short will occur resulting in malfunction of the cathodic protection system.
The area beneath a large ground storage tank is difficult to access making repairs within that area virtually impossible. It is, therefore, important to use anode materials which do not themselves substantially corrode, or which do not form current blocking oxidation layers. Further, the anode and the connections to the anode should provide a thin or low profile and should also be such that the cathodic protection system provides a minimal protection current substantially uniformly to the entire tank bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,893 to Kroon et al. discloses a cathodic protection system for an above-ground storage tank having a metal bottom. A leak containing dielectric safety membrane is spaced a short distance below and extends beneath the tank bottom generally parallel thereto thereby to form a narrow envelope. Compacted electrolytic fill is provided between the dielectric safety membrane and the tank bottom. A horizontally disposed cathodic protection anode is embedded in the electrolytic fill. The anode is in the form of a matrix or grid of interconnected titanium bars and ribbons. A reticulate dielectric insulator may be embedded in the electrolytic fill and positioned directly above the anode to maintain a generally uniform spacing between the anode and the tank bottom. The ribbons extend transversely of the bars and are spot welded on uniform centers to the bars on diameters or major chords of a circular tank bottom. A low profile connection is provided between the bars and power feeds to a rectifier. Although this cathodic protection system has proven to be effective, improvements to such cathodic protection systems are desired.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel cathodic protection apparatus and storage tank incorporating the same.

Cathodic protection apparatus and method


A display driving device adapted to output a column driving voltage to a sequentially selected one of row terminals of a display panel during a respective row selection period. The row selection period includes an accessing period for accessing a display memory and an idling period in which no access is made. At least a portion of the idling period may be provided prior to the accessing period. The idling period may be regulated in accordance with the display mode chosen.

Display means including LCD are widely used in many portable electronic apparatuses such as, mobile phones personal handyphone systems (PHSs), and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
LCD used in these electronic apparatuses are increasingly equipped with a larger display panel having an increased number of tone levels in order to improve the visibility of information on the LCD. This inevitably entails greater power consumption by a display. Power saving is important for a portable electronic apparatus since it directly affects the operable hours of the apparatus if it is powered by a battery.
In order to save energy, information is displayed on a limited area of a large LCD panel (the limited area hereinafter referred to as display area), or at a limited tone level, when the entire area is not needed or the panel is not in operation or in communication with other components of the apparatus. Thus, the amount of data to be displayed by the panel is reduced in a reduced display mode to reduce the driving frequency of the panel, i.e. to prolong the period for selecting each row of the panel (the period hereinafter referred to as row selection period). A maximum possible power saving can be attained if the driving frequency is precisely lowered to an optimum power saving frequency.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional LCD driving device designed to operate at a lowered frequency to save power depending on the display mode selected. FIG. 2 is a timing diagram for the operation of the LCD driving device of FIG. 1.
The LCD driving device for an LCD panel 20 shown in FIG. 1 has an interface 11, a display memory 12, a display controller 33, an LCD driver 14, and a clock generator 35.
The interface 11 receives externally supplied display data, which is stored in the display memory 12.
The clock generator 35 generates a system clock SCK suitable for a specified display mode. The clock is supplied to other components including the display controller 33.
In addition to system clock SCK, the display controller 33 is supplied with information specifying a display mode which defines the display area and the tone level for the data. The display data stored in the display memory 12 is retrieved therefrom and supplied to the LCD driver 14 in accordance with the display mode. Timing of the retrieval is performed based on the system clock SCK. Under the control of the display controller 33, the LCD driver 14 determines a driving voltage for driving the LCD panel 20 based on the display data received from the display controller 33. Incidentally, the LCD driving device is formed in one chip or several chips, and is controlled by a CPU for example.
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, there are shown operations of this conventional LCD driving device controlling the LCD panel 20. FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate relationships between timings of: (a) row selection, (b) supply voltage, (c) column output, (d) system clock SCK, and (e) access to the display memory.
Row terminals (e.g. common terminal) of the LCD panel 20 are selected in sequence from the upper most one to the lowest one at a given timing (the timing will be hereinafter referred to as row selection timing). The time interval Tr1 between the two successive row selections, referred to as row selection period, as shown in FIG. 2A(a) is determined appropriately according to the number of row terminals and/or tone levels to be selected in one frame. A shorter row selection period Tr1 is required for a larger display area and/or a high tone level.
On the other hand, respective column terminals (e.g. segment terminals) of the LCD panel 20 are provided with driving voltages associated with a line of selected row terminals. The display controller 33 prepares data for the next row selection period (the data will be referred to as the next display data). This can be done by accessing the display memory 12 a number of times while the LCD driver 14 is providing the current row selection column output. For example, while driving voltages are applied to the column terminals associated with a row line i−1 as shown in FIG. 2A(c), the next display data for the next line i is sequentially retrieved from the display memory 12 by accessing the memory a number of times (indicated by upward arrows) as shown in FIG. 2A(e).
In the example shown herein the frequency of such memory access in one selection period Tr1 is 8 as shown in FIG. 2A(e). However, the frequency is actually determined by the ratio of the amount of data for one line and the amount of data that can be retrieved from the display memory 12 in one read.
In the conventional LCD driving device shown in FIG. 1, an instruction specifying the display mode is provided not only to the display controller 33 but also to the clock generator 35 so that the clock generator 35 will reduce the frequency of the clock SCK, as shown in FIG. 2B (d), when the amount of display data decreases in a reduced display mode requiring only a reduced display area and/or a lower tone level. Accordingly, in order to minimize power consumption by the LCD by reducing the frequency of selection timing (and hence the driving frequency of the LCD), a longer row selection period Tr2 is selected as shown in FIG. 2B(a).
This conventional LCD driving device requires a clock generator capable of generating a variable system clock SCK for clocking the LCD panel in reduced display modes (associated with low tone levels and partial display areas). In order to provide the clock generator with this capability, the time constant of the clock generator 35 is regulated to provide a required frequency. It is then necessary to provide means for precisely regulating the time constant (referred to as time constant regulator) of the clock generator 35 over a wide range of frequency, which is not easy.
If, however, the clock generator 35 is provided with an external time constant regulator, it is not possible to program the regulator by an internal controller such as CPU to automatically generate a desired time constant depending on different display modes. A frequency divider may be provided in a stage following the clock generator 35 for regulating the driving frequency of the LCD. However, since such a frequency divider has a frequency division ratio m, where m is an integer, it can only change the clock frequency by a factor of 1/m, failing to provide fine regulation of the driving frequency.
It should be noted that in an LCD driving device the supply voltage Vdd of a battery is temporarily lowered by the driving current activating one row of the LCD panel immediately after the activation (i.e. selection) of the row, as shown in FIG. 2A(b) and FIG. 2B (b). Since each of the LCD pixels in the row has a capacitance, they dissipate energy every time the voltage impressed upon them changes (due to the fact that then charging and discharging currents flow through them). The charging currents inevitably results in a further disadvantage that it causes a voltage drop due to the impedance of the LCD panel.
In portable apparatuses utilizing an LCD panel, the supply voltage is provided by a common battery, that the voltage drop pertinent to the LCD driving device, results in the voltage drops in other components such as display memory. In the conventional LCD driving device, the voltage drop can cause an erroneous display data read from the display memory 12, since display data is retrieved from the display memory 12 in the row selection period Tr1 and Tr2 but it is difficult to maintain a minimum necessary operational voltage for the read if such voltage drop takes place.

Display driving device, display apparatus, and method of driving the same


A method for forming a connection between a wire and a pin includes placing a fixturing element over the pin, capturing the wire between an upper surface and a lower surface of the fixturing element, compressing the fixturing element to hold the wire around the pin and forming a fixed connection between the wire and the pin. A system for forming an electrical connection includes a pin, a fixturing element disposed around the pin, and a wire placed around pin and sandwiched between an upper surface and a lower surface of the fixturing element.

Wires and cables are electrically and/or mechanically connected to a variety of different anchor points. For example, a signal wire may be electrically and mechanically connected to a pin. The pin provides a mechanical anchor that resists mechanical forces applied to the wire. The pin may also serve as an electrical conductor between the wire and other electrical components. Making connections between wires and anchor points, particularly in the microscale, can be challenging for a variety of reasons. In making a microscale connection, the wires or anchor points are very small and can be easily damaged. This requires that the subassembly be discarded. Additionally, making microscale connections can be time consuming, requires a high level of skill, and expensive application-specific fixturing.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

Wire termination using fixturing elements


An apparatus for cooking French fries from a frozen pre-cooked condition that includes a bin (2) from which the frozen French fries may be delivered in a predetermined quantity to a first basket (11) via a balance (8). Bin (2) and balance (8) are placed in an enclosure (1) where a freezing temperature prevails. A cold airflow is kept in said enclosure and is circulated over evaporator (16) of cooling device placed in this enclosure to dry the air and therefore avoid clustering of the French fries due to frosting.

The storage of French fries in a frozen state in a bin, their distribution in measured quantities and their cooking to produce a high-quality product, pose various problems which to date have not all been satisfactorily resolved. Specifically, pre-cooked and frozen French fries, covered with ice, do not produce a satisfactory product after they are cooked in boiling oil.

Apparatus for cooking french fries from pre-cooked frozen condition


A flat-type display panel fixing device in which a holding frame, in which a flat-type display panel is held, is connected to a prism cover without a screw. The holding frame is rotatably supported by the prism cover at one end portion, and connected to the prism cover at the other end portion, where an engaging hole provided in the holding frame is fitted to an engaging pin formed on the prism cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat-type display panel provided on a camera, for example, for indicating various kinds of information, and more particularly, relates to a device for fixing the flat-type display panel to a base frame of the camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, cameras having a liquid crystal panel on the camera body to indicate various kinds of photographic information or a photographic operation have been developed. The liquid crystal panel is housed in a holding frame together with a light emitting panel, a shield plate, a liquid crystal driving IC and the like. The holding frame is fixed by screws to a pentagonal prism cover disposed over a pentagonal prism, or fixed by screws to a camera body.
In the conventional fixing construction described above, however, an operation of handling screws is cumbersome. Further, in a case in which holes for the screws are large, the position of the liquid crystal panel is easily offset toward the right or left, and thus a part of a mark indicated on the liquid crystal panel may be hidden by a window frame of a top cover disposed on the liquid crystal panel. In such a case, the fixing position of the holding frame would need to be changed, which is an inconvenient operation. Further, since the holding frame is usually made of plastic material, if a portion to which the holding frame is fixed is deformed, the holding frame may deviate from the original position, and thus a part of the indicated mark may be hidden by the window frame, similarly to the above problem.


Disclosed is a metal coated carbon brush having a carbonaceous substrate and a metal coating formed on a surface of the carbonaceous substrate having a mean pore radius of 0.1–2.0 μm and an accumulative pore volume of 50–600 mm3/g.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal coated carbon brush for electric motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
With reference to FIG. 1, recently on electric motor 2 having a carbon brush 1 (hereinafter referred to as brush) has been getting compact and required to have a large capacity. Therefore, as the carbon brush 1, small size, lower resistance loss of electric conductivity (hereinafter referred to as resistance loss) and lower wear has been required.
Conventionally, as the carbon brush used for slip ring or low voltage electric motor, a metallic carbon brush which consists of graphite powder mixed with metal powder and sintered has often been used. However, as increasing the metal content reduces the resistance loss of carbon brush, there are some problems such as inferior lubrication, anti-arc property, and increasing wear.
Also, as an AC commutator motor, there is a problem that a commutation gets worse and the wear increases if low resistance material is used to decrease the resistance loss.
To the contrary, in the case of using high resistance material and applying greater current to a brush, the brush temperature increases due to resistant heating. Although the brush is usually produced by embedded a lead wire with copper powder or the like and compressed to join with carbon brush body. As current is applied, there is a problem that the brush temperature increases and copper powder of caulked part is oxidized and current flow gets worse and at last electric motor stops.
Also, among the AC commutator motor, the electric motor required for higher revolution such as for an electric cleaner, there is a resin bonded type carbon brush, which consists of graphite powder and resin binder and combines and cured, due to the requirement of excellent commutation at the time of high number of revolution during long life time. However, in case of resin bonded type brush, the brush temperature is increased due to the high resistance, under the high current density, and resulting in degradation of resin used as binder.
To solve these problems, a carbon brush which surface is coated with metal having a good electric conductivity to decrease the electric resistance of whole carbon brush which includes the carbon as a component is well known (For example, patent reference 1 is referred).
Japanese unexamined (Kokai) patent publication Hei 5-182733 is shown for example.
However, since it was difficult to coat the metal with same thickness on the surface of carbonaceous material, due to the variation of the thickness, in some case resulting in uneven coloring on the surface of the metal. Therefore, brush users sometimes feel uncomfortable. As the uneven coloring also causes the oxidation of the metal, it cannot maintain the good electric resistance.
Accordingly, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a metal coated carbon brush having a uniform thickness of metal coating and to prevent the uneven coloring.


A rights objects acquisition method of a mobile terminal in a digital right management system is provided for acquiring multiple rights objects in a composite manner. An objects right acquisition method of a mobile terminal may include generating, in response to a group rights object (RO) acquisition command, a group rights object acquisition request with content identifiers assigned to individual contents corresponding to the rights objects indicated by the group rights object acquisition command, sending the group rights object acquisition request to a rights issuer; and receiving an group rights object acquisition response containing rights object identifiers assigned to the rights objects from the rights issuer. The present invention streamlines the RO acquisition process, especially when acquiring multiple ROs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital right management (DRM) system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a rights objects acquisition method of a mobile terminal in a digital right management system that is capable of delivering multiple rights objects to a mobile terminal simultaneously.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent tendency toward digital convergence, mobile terminals are evolving into multifunctional devices. For example, the functionality of mobile terminals now may include capabilities such as MP3 players and digital broadcast players by incorporating MP3 and digital broadcast tuner modules. Such multimedia-enabled mobile terminals may also support various multimedia services, such as wireless Internet access, online games, Music On Demand (MOD), and Video On Demand (VOD). The ongoing diversification of the mobile services and the terminal capabilities continue to expand the utilizations of mobile terminals. The mobile content business has also expanded to include enabling the provision of various types of mobile contents including ringtones, motion pictures, music files, and games, many of which are valuable copyrighted materials. Since these mobile contents are typically delivered to end users as pay contents, there is a need to protect the contents from theft and prying eyes.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) now plays an ever-increasing role to protect the pay contents from mobile terminal service providers and used in mobile terminals from piracy and illegal copying. DRM is specifically provides a controlled consumption of digital contents, such as documents, audio files including voice and music files and ring tones, video files, and games to protect the intellectual property right of the authors and the content providers.
Although DRM content object can be freely downloaded, it is useless to a user without a usage right, because without the corresponding Rights Object (RO), the material cannot be accessed since the DRM content objects are encrypted with a specific license key.
The RO is a container used in the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) DRM system, which is an open DRM standard invented by the Open Mobile Alliance, for carrying the license key to decrypt the corresponding DRM object. The RO is issued by a Right Issuer (RI) and purchased by the end user. Since the digital content and corresponding RO are delivered in a detached manner (typically separately), the usage of the downloaded content is restricted to the user acquiring the corresponding RO. The RO is a collection of Permission, Constraints, and other attributes that define under what circumstances access is granted to a particular user, and what usages are defined for, DRM content object. Typically, the usage constraints include Count, DateTime, Interval, Timed-Count, Accumulated, and Individual. The constraints are stored in a specific field of the RO.
For example, the RO may specify the usage for an MP3 file with the count constraint value set to "10". In this case, the MP3 file can be played 10 times and the count is decremented by 1 each time the MP3 file is played. If the count reaches "0", the usage right on the MP3 file is exhausted. In order to maintain the usage right on the MP3 file, the corresponding RO should be updated.
FIGS. 1a and 1b are diagrams illustrating RO delivery procedures in conventional OMA DRM systems.
In FIGS. 1a and 1b, a mobile terminal 101 transmits a content request message (105) to content server 102, and the content server 102 transmits a corresponding content in response to the content request message 106. In a case where the requested content is a DRM protected content, the content is encrypted with an encryption key and with a scheme specified by the DRM, and transmitted in a DRM format having the constraints (e.g., usage rule, the number of times to be played, and duration). If a user request for acquiring the license for the downloaded content is detected, the mobile terminal 101 transmits a license request message 107 to a Right Issuer (RI) 103, and the RI 103 transmits the corresponding license 108 to the mobile terminal 101 in response to the license request message. Here, the license is a usage right on the content which includes a decryption key and usage constraint information. In the case of a DRM content object, the mobile terminal 101 should acquire the usage right for consuming the content. Accordingly, the RI 103 checks whether the identity of the user of the mobile terminal 101 is valid. If it is determined that the user is valid, the RI 103 transmits the license to the mobile terminal 101. If the license is received from the RI 103, the mobile terminal 101 is capable of playing/accessing the content by using the license. Typically, the decryption key and usage constraint information are extracted from the license by a DRM client application installed in the mobile terminal 101. The content is decrypted by using the decryption key and played under the usage constraints specified in the license.
FIG. 1a shows an OMA DRM version 1.0 system in which the DRM RO containing a non-encrypted content encryption key (CEK) is delivered from the RI server 103 to the mobile terminal 101. In the OMA DRM version 1.0 system, there are serious shortcomings in that the content can be acquired and distributed by an unauthorized user who obtained the DRM Content Format (DCF) and RO (i.e., the license of the corresponding DRM content), simultaneously.
FIG. 1b shows an OMA DRM version 2.0 system in which an authentication authority 104 (for example, Content Management Licensing Administrator: CMLA) is introduced. The CMLA 104 transfers the content encryption keys CEK 109 and 110, which are encrypted with a public key, to the mobile terminal 101 and the RI 103, respectively, and the RI 103 transfers the RO contained the encrypted CEK to the mobile terminal 101. Accordingly, in the OMA DRM version 2.0 system, the content can be decrypted only in the mobile terminal 101 having the CEK, resulting in reinforcement of usage right protection.
In the conventional OMA DRM version 2.0 system, however, each content is individually protected by one RO, whereby the RO acquisition process, especially when acquiring multiple ROs, is laborious and time-consuming. For example, extending the validity of a number of ROs for expired MP3, video, and game files requires multiple RO purchasing processes, resulting a great degree of user inconvenience. Thus, there is a need in the art for a more user convenient method that provides effective protection of content.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Rights object acquisition method of mobile terminal in digital right management system


Systems, methods, and computer program products are described for receiving a request for a head pose prediction for an augmented reality experience, identifying at least one positional indicator and at least one rotational indicator associated with the augmented reality experience, and providing the at least one positional indicator and the at least one rotational indicator to a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) comprising a plurality of cells. The RNN may include a plurality of recurrent steps that each include at least one of the plurality of cells and at least one fully connected (FC) layer. The RNN may be used to generate at least one pose prediction corresponding to head pose changes for the augmented reality experience for at least one upcoming time period, provide the at least one pose prediction and trigger display of augmented reality content based on the at least one pose prediction.

In an immersive experience, such as an experience generated by a Virtual Reality (VR) system or an Augmented Reality (AR) system, tracking may provide insight into a user's future movements while in the VR/AR experience. The tracking may be supplemented by predictions of where the user may move next. When VR/AR content is tracked and/or rendered remotely, such as on a base station in the same location of a VR/AR-enabled device, latency may be introduced by the round-trip time from the device to a rendering server and back to the device. The introduced latency may cause errors in the accuracy of predicting movements of the user.

Pose prediction with recurrent neural networks


An aircraft with rear mounted engines, comprising a vertical tail plane and a horizontal tail plane, in which the engines are mounted on top of the horizontal tail plane, such that the horizontal tail plane comprises an inner fixed part attached to the fuselage of the aircraft, the inner fixed part comprising an elevator, and two outer movable parts, each one of the outer movable parts being located at each side end of the horizontal tail plane which is furthest away from the fuselage of the aircraft, such that both the inner fixed part and the outer movable parts are at least partially subjected to a flow coming from the engines when the engines are in use.

The rear mounted installation of the engines in an aircraft is preferred in certain cases, for instance, when installing ultra high bypass ratio engines, propeller engines and/or contra rotating open rotor (CROR) engines. In these cases, due to the high diameter of the engines and/or the noise they produce, or just because it is preferred to have a clean wing, a rear mounted installation is sometimes preferred. In these aircraft, the horizontal tail is usually moved to the top of the vertical tail, this configuration being known as a "T-tail".
The mounting of the engines to the aircraft is usually achieved via conventional huge pylons on the rear portion of the fuselage of the aircraft. These pylons do not perform any other function apart from sustaining the engines.
Some proposals, as the ones disclosed in GB 2445555 A or WO 98/21092 A1, provide aircraft in which the engines are located towards the aft of the aircraft, close to the tail end.
GB 1112924, referred to "Improvements in or relating to Aircraft", discloses an aircraft including a main wing having trailing edge flaps guided in the wing for chordwise motion relative thereto, and a tail assembly having horizontal and vertical control surfaces and at least two power driven propellers supported by the tail assembly, the propellers being positioned on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the aircraft in the vicinity of the rear of the wing so that in the rearwardly deflected position of the flaps the rear edges of the flaps are closely adjacent the lower part of the propeller-disk area, said horizontal and vertical control surfaces being positioned so that the slip stream of the propellers sweeps over said surfaces.
These prior art configurations provide different aircraft in which the engines are mounted in the rear part of the aircraft. However, it is desirable to have an aircraft with rear mounted engines and with control surfaces located at the rear part of the aircraft which can provide an improved efficiency of the control surfaces.


A container closure assembly including a plastic container, a barrier layer and a closure member. The barrier layer and closure member completely cover the access opening to the container and the barrier layer includes a weakened portion thereof which is broken open on removing the closure member.

The present invention deals with a container closure assembly including a tamper proof closure and a barrier layer.
It is highly desirable to provide a container with a tamper-evident closure capable of being easily opened and reclosed without the use of a tool and also incorporating a gas permeation barrier, particularly when it is necessary to maintain the integrity of the contents of the container, as for example carbonated beverages. Thus, the closure should at least in part include a gas permeation layer in order to maintain the integrity of the container contents prior to opening. In addition, the closure should have the ability of showing whether or not it has been damaged or tampered with and it should also be sufficiently reclosable to avoid contamination of the contents after the opening of the container.
Heretofore, it has been difficult to accomplish the foregoing with plastic closures which are particularly suitable for plastic containers. It is clearly advantageous to utilize a closure as aforesaid made of plastic for plastic containers, preferably of the same plastic as the container, for convenience in recycling.
It is also desirable to provide a container closure assembly as aforesaid which is easy to prepare commercially and which is convenient and easy to use by the consumer.
Accordingly, it is a principal objective of the present invention to a provide a container closure assembly including a barrier layer, wherein the closure is resistant to gas permeation, is tamper-evident and is capable of being easily opened and reclosed.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a closure assembly as aforesaid which is easy to prepare, inexpensive and easy to use in practice.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.


Electrical connector including a connector body having a mating side with a communication array of signal and ground contacts and first and second mounting sides with respective mounting arrays of signal and ground contacts. Each of the first and second mounting sides is configured to be mounted to a corresponding circuit board. The connector body includes signal and ground conductors that extend through the connector body and communicatively couple the communication array to each of the mounting arrays. The mating side faces along a mating axis and the first and second mounting sides face in opposite directions along a mounting axis. The mating and mounting axes are perpendicular to each other.

The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors that are configured to transmit data signals.
Electrical connectors may be used within communication systems, such as telecommunication equipment, servers, data storage, transport devices, and the like. Some communication systems include daughter card assemblies, which may be communicatively coupled to each other through a backplane (or midplane) assembly. Each of the daughter card assemblies includes a receptacle connector that is mounted to a circuit board, which is referred to as a daughter card. The backplane assembly includes header connectors that are mounted to the backplane (or midplane) circuit board. Each of the receptacle connectors of the daughter card assemblies mates with a different one of the header connectors thereby communicatively coupling the daughter card assemblies to the backplane assembly.
The receptacle connector includes a mating side that engages the backplane assembly and a mounting side that is mounted to the corresponding circuit board. The mating and mounting sides typically face in directions that are perpendicular to each other. In many connectors, the mating and mounting sides have a dense array of contacts that include signal contacts and ground contacts.
The daughter card to which the receptacle connector is mounted includes an array of plated thru-holes that receive the signal and ground contacts of the receptacle connector. The plated thru-holes that receive the signal contacts are electrically connected to signal traces of the circuit board. Many circuit boards include multiple signal layers in which each signal layer has a number of signal traces. The signal traces of different layers are joined through vias in the layers. Accordingly, a signal propagating along a signal pathway in the circuit board may encounter a number of interfaces where the vias of signal layers electrically join different signal traces. Generally, increasing the number of such interfaces along the signal pathway increases signal degradation (or loss in signal quality).
One ongoing trend in electrical connectors, including the receptacle connectors discussed above, is the increased density of signal pathways through the electrical connector. Greater densities permit smaller devices and/or enable greater data throughput. To accommodate the greater density of signal pathways in the receptacle connectors, the circuit boards to which the receptacle connectors are mounted have been modified. For example, signal layers have been added to the circuit boards to provide more space for routing the signal pathways to or from the plated thru-holes. As discussed above, however, additional signal layers correspond to more interfaces that are encountered by the propagating signal, which can negatively affect signal quality. Increasing the number of layers also increases the cost of the circuit board.
In addition to the above, one drawback with conventional daughter card assemblies is that the receptacle connectors have a fixed geometry that provides only a single mounting array that is mounted to a single daughter card. Receptacle connectors capable of mounting to multiple daughter cards, in addition to coupling to the header connector, may be desired. For example, a receptacle connector with two mounting arrays could be mounted to two daughter cards. Such receptacle connectors could possibly reduce the contact densities of the mounting arrays so that thinner daughter cards may be used while also maintaining the overall throughput of the receptacle connector.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electrical connector having multiple mounting arrays that is capable of being communicatively coupled to three circuit boards.

Electrical connector having an array of signal contacts


A radiation shield includes a radio-opaque drape which has an open area extending completely through the drape to provide a viewing site. Radiation control structure in the form of a vent system is located in the open area. The vent system includes a plurality of radio-opaque slats extending at least partially across at least a portion of the open area. The slats preferably extend outwardly away from the surface of the drape to facilitate the capturing of scattered radiation.

Cardiac imaging uses an x-ray source under the patient that emits x-rays which travel through the x-ray table and the patient to above the table imager. In such procedures x-rays are used, for example, during a cardiac cathertization procedure to image the coronary arteries. The drawback with this arrangement is that the radiation can be redirected or scattered like a bullet that ricochets. While the patient is rarely exposed to radiation, the cath lab personnel are exposed to radiation from the scattered radiation. For one procedure the scattering does not result in a lot of exposure. Over the years, however, the exposure is great.
Current methods include shields that move in front of the cath lab personnel. The drawback with these methods, however, is that it is difficult to see the patient. In addition, because the shields are bulky they are frequently not used. Further, such shields do not block the radiation well. Current shielding techniques consist of an under the table drape and a movable lead shield. Shielding that could be draped over the patient from the abdomen to the leg would decrease the exposure to cath lab personnel. Unfortunately, the catheters, however, need to be viewed as they pass through the aorta and simply placing a lead shield over the patient would block view of the catheters.


Different representations are associated with an instance of media content, and a representation can include multiple portions of media content. A respective quality value and bitrate can be associated with each of the portions. Information about the instance of content, including bitrate and quality information, can be accessed by and/or sent to a client. The quality information indicates the availability of measures of quality (e.g., quality values) and where those quality values reside or how they can be retrieved. The client can use quality as well as bitrate to make more intelligent decisions while streaming the content. For example, while the content is being downloaded over a network, the client can adapt to changes in available network bandwidth by selecting one portion of the instance of media content over another based not just on its bitrate but also based on its quality value.

Video streaming is becoming more and more popular, with video traffic exceeding 50 percent of the total traffic over content distribution networks (CDNs) according to some estimates. DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)) is designed to promote efficient delivery of multimedia content from servers to clients through HTTP-based content distribution networks.
Adaptive streaming over HTTP allows streaming clients to switch between different representations of multimedia content that has been encoded (compressed) at multiple, different bitrates. Each representation may be divided into one or more segments, and each segment may be divided into one or more sub-segments. Bitrate information for each representation, either at the representation level or at the segment/sub-segment level, is provided to a client through a document containing metadata, referred to as Media Presentation Description (MPD). Based on that bitrate information, the client can switch from one representation to another according to the available bandwidth. Switching from one representation to another occurs at segment/sub-segment boundaries, referred to as stream access points (SAPs). Thus, the client may stream segments/sub-segments from a higher bitrate representation when more bandwidth is available, and may stream segments/sub-segments from a lower bitrate representation with less bandwidth is available. Generally speaking, bitrate-driven adaptive streaming is greedy in nature, because each client selects and streams the representation that has the highest possible bitrate that the client can handle and is within the amount of bandwidth that is available.
Bitrate can influence the level of quality, although quality is not solely dependent on bitrate. Fluctuations in quality can occur when bandwidth or bitrate varies over time, such as when a client switches back-and-forth between higher and lower bitrate representations as just described. Furthermore, the greedy nature of bitrate-driven adaptive streaming can, in some instances, intensify the degree and frequency of changes in available bandwidth as multiple streaming clients and applications compete for bandwidth, thereby also intensifying fluctuations in quality.
Representations may be encoded as constant bit rate (CBR) versions or variable bit rate (VBR) versions. With CBR, the bitrate is well-controlled so that it is nearly constant. However, the complexity of content may change as a result of, for example, switching from relatively static (less complex) scenes to dynamic (more complex) scenes. Consequently, quality may fluctuate significantly unless the specified bitrate is sufficiently high to envelope the more complex scenes. However, the constant use of a higher bitrate, even for less complex scenes, means that bandwidth is wasted when those scenes are being sent over the network.
VBR may be unconstrained, or it may be constrained (the maximum bitrate is capped). With VBR, a higher bitrate can be allocated to more complex scenes and a lower bitrate can be allocated to less complex scenes. As a result, fluctuations in quality are relatively small, but quality still may not be consistent, particularly when VBR is constrained. Also, use of a higher bitrate may not necessarily improve quality, and consequently bandwidth is wasted when a higher bitrate is used but does not contribute to an improvement in quality.
To summarize, bitrate-driven adaptive streaming results in at least a couple of issues: fluctuations in quality, and inefficient use of bandwidth.

Using quality information for adaptive streaming of media content


A charging device is provided for an external alternating current voltage source and a motor vehicle equipped with a high-voltage battery, wherein the motor vehicle has a low-voltage battery, a link circuit capacitor and a charging electronics unit with a charging voltage input and a supply voltage input. The charging device is designed such that the vehicle has a bidirectional auxiliary power supply with two interfaces. The first interface of the auxiliary power supply is connected in parallel with the link circuit capacitor and in parallel with the charging voltage input of the charging electronics unit, and the second interface of the auxiliary power supply and the low-voltage battery are connected in parallel with the supply voltage input of the charging electronics unit.

The invention relates to a charging device for electric vehicles comprising an external alternating voltage source and a motor vehicle with a high-voltage battery, wherein the motor vehicle has a low-voltage battery, a link circuit capacitor and a charging electronics unit with a charging voltage input and a supply voltage input.
Various demands, such as operating convenience, high user flexibility and high charging capacity, are placed on the charging device of an electric vehicle, which frequently lead to very complex and cost-intensive solutions. As a result, it is also more difficult to fulfill minimum requirements for longevity, robustness and customer availability. In this area of conflict are to be found circuits according to the prior art which are intended, for example, to limit the switch-on current, i.e. the inrush current, when a charging connection is made by plugging-in a charging cable and closing contactors. For example, the switch-on current can be limited by a resistor, which can be bypassed by switching a relay for example, after the switch-on current has occurred. On the one hand, limiting the switch-on current ensures the prescribed conformity, for example, with the CE label of safety and health-related products for guaranteeing the free movement of goods. On the other, additional losses, which mean a poorer charging efficiency when charging the electric vehicle, are associated with such a switch-on-current-limiting circuit.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved charging device for an electric vehicle.
This and other objects are achieved by a charging device comprising an external alternating current voltage source and a motor vehicle with a high-voltage battery, wherein the motor vehicle has a low-voltage battery, a link circuit capacitor and a charging electronics unit with a voltage input and a supply voltage input. The vehicle has a bidirectional auxiliary power supply with two interfaces. The first interface of the auxiliary power supply is connected in parallel with the link circuit capacitor and in parallel with the charging voltage input of the charging electronics unit. The second interface of the auxiliary power supple and the low-voltage battery are connected in parallel with the supply voltage input of the charging electronics unit.
According to the invention, the motor vehicle has a bidirectional auxiliary power supply with two interfaces. The first interface of the auxiliary power supply is connected in parallel with the link circuit capacitor and in parallel with the charging voltage input of the charging electronics unit. The second interface of the auxiliary power supply and the low-voltage battery are connected in parallel with the supply voltage input of the charging electronics unit.
The bidirectionality of the auxiliary power supply and the integration of the auxiliary power supply circuit into the charging device provides the advantage that electrical power can be transferred by way of the auxiliary power supply from the electrical path of the charging device connected to the supply voltage input of the charging electronics unit to the path connected to the charging voltage input of the charging electronics unit and vice versa.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the motor vehicle has a charging control unit for charging the high-voltage battery on the external alternating voltage source, and a charging connection can be made between the motor vehicle and the external alternating voltage source. The low-voltage battery feeds the supply voltage input of the control electronics unit and ensures that the charging control unit and the auxiliary power supply receive an electrical supply via the second interface of the auxiliary power supply.
In other words, the low-voltage battery supplies the charging electronics unit and the auxiliary power supply with electricity.
It is advantageous when the auxiliary power supply charges the link circuit capacitor in order to limit a switch-on current in the control electronics unit when the charging connection is made and the link circuit capacitor is charged.
The limitation of the switch-on current by systematic charging of the link circuit capacitor enables product-specific safety standards, which may be specified as part of the CE label for example, to be maintained. As well as product safety, limiting the switch-on current also has an advantageous effect on the reliability and longevity of the charging device.
According to a further embodiment, if the low-voltage battery is defective or deeply discharged and the charging connection to charge the high-voltage battery is made, the charging control unit can be supplied with electricity from the external voltage source by way of a control cable. The auxiliary power supply can be supplied with electricity from the external alternating voltage source via the first interface of the auxiliary power supply and feeds the supply voltage input of the charging electronics unit via the second interface of the auxiliary power supply.
This ensures that the high-voltage battery of the vehicle can also be charged via the external electrical network and the charging electronics unit in the absence of an electrical power output from the low-voltage battery. Although, in the normal operating case, the charging electronics unit is supplied by the low-voltage battery, the vehicle can still be charged in the event of a breakdown due to a defective or flat low-voltage battery. In the event of a breakdown, the charging control unit and the charging electronics unit are supplied from the external electrical network. Charging of the high-voltage battery therefore does not depend on the functionality of the low-voltage battery.
In addition, a DC chopper circuit can transform the electrical voltage between the high-voltage battery and the low-voltage battery, thus enabling the low-voltage battery to be charged by way of the DC chopper.
As a result of this embodiment, the low-voltage battery can likewise be charged by the external alternating voltage source in the event of a discharge or deep-discharge. Both the high-voltage battery and the low-voltage battery can therefore be charged in the event of a defective low-voltage supply internal to the vehicle. As a result, integrating the bidirectional power supply contributes to the robustness of the charging device, as a high availability for the customer is also achieved beyond the intended range of application of the charging device. The term robustness also implies that a fault scenario which has occurred can be rectified. With the embodiment described, this is so for the case of a discharged or deep-discharged battery on account of the re-charging of the low-voltage battery.
The invention is based on the following considerations. With electric vehicles, the high-voltage battery is usually charged by means of the charging device with an on-board charger, which is connected to the alternating current (AC) voltage network (e.g. domestic supply) by means of a special, standardized interface with logic and isolating contactors. The charger is supplied with the operating voltage via the vehicle's low-voltage on-board power supply. When the isolating contactors are closed, the switch-on current in the on-board charger must be limited in order to satisfy product-specific guidelines as part of the CE label. Various circuits, which complement the isolating contactors and which require a significant technical investment and, therefore, lead to an increasing complexity of the system, are known for this purpose. Further consequences are additional electrical losses in the vehicle's charging electrics and a degradation of the efficiency for charging the high-voltage battery.
An auxiliary power supply, which charges a link circuit capacitor by way of the vehicle's low-voltage battery before the isolating contactors are closed, can be incorporated as an improving measure. By this means, the switch-on current, which can also be referred to as inrush current, is limited. The CE conformity of the charging device can be achieved in this way. A further advantage, which likewise contributes to the robustness of the charging device, results if the auxiliary power supply is designed bidirectionally and is connected to the charger. For the designated exception where the on-board charger cannot be supplied from the low-voltage battery (e.g. due to the battery being deeply discharged or defective) and the link circuit capacitor cannot be charged, the charger can be supplied by the domestic supply via the auxiliary power supply. The vehicle can therefore be charged even when the low-voltage battery is flat. Other circuits, which are required to ensure that the high-voltage storage device can be charged when the low-voltage battery is discharged, can therefore be dispensed with. A robust charging device with high availability, low susceptibility to faults, and high safety standards can therefore be implemented with a bidirectional auxiliary power supply.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Charging device having a bidirectional auxiliary power supply unit

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A suspended ceiling system in one embodiment includes a ceiling panel and a mounting assembly. The mounting assembly includes a cable secured to a building support structure, a first coupler for attachment to the cable, and a second coupler for attachment to the ceiling panel. The first coupler includes a cable mounting channel having first and second openings and a cable adjustment mechanism for releasably gripping the cable. In one implementation, the adjustment mechanism includes a spring-biased plunger configured to engage the cable. The cable is routed through the channel from the first to second opening. The position of the cable with respect to the first coupler may be adjusted to select the desired position and angular orientation of the ceiling panel. In one embodiment, the first coupler includes ball element pivotably engaged with the second coupler to accommodate various angular positions of the panel and/or panel configurations.

The present invention relates to ceiling systems and more particularly to hardware mounting assemblies for a suspended ceiling system.
Suspended ceiling systems may comprise various types and shapes of ornamental and acoustical elements which are hung from an overhead support structure. These elements, referred to collectively herein as "ceiling panels," are typically attached to the support structure via mounting hardware which generally includes wires or cables and coupling mechanisms for both fastening the wires or cables to the ceiling panels at one end and to the support structure at the other end. The ability to easily adjust the position and orientation of the ceiling panels in the field during installation is desired for both creating different visual effects and accommodating varying installation conditions encountered. In addition, it is desired to easily mount numerous different shapes or geometric configurations of ceiling panels using common mounting hardware.

Mounting apparatus for suspended ceiling system


A guide mechanism and method for positioning a tape media in a transverse position at a transducer. A first surface guide disposed to one side of the transducer engages the tape media surface to orient the tape media surface non-planar with respect to the transverse position. A second surface guide disposed between the first surface guide and transducer engages the tape media surface to orient the tape media surface parallel to the transverse position. An edge guide disposed adjacent to the transducer engages the edge of the tape media positioning the tape media at a predetermined transverse position. A third and fourth surface guides and a second edge guide may be provided on the opposite side of the transducer to permit positioning of the tape media having bidirectional movement.

The present invention relates to the field of guide mechanisms and methods of transversely positioning a tape media across the face of a transducer.
One method of increasing the density of data stored in a tape media is to reduce the width of data tracks written therein. The narrow data tracks in turn require a tighter tolerance be maintained for the transverse positioning of the tape media with respect to a transducer. A common method for transverse positioning the tape media is to bias either its top edge or the bottom edge against a stationary or rotating reference edge guide. As long as the edge of the tape media does not buckle at the reference edge guide, high tracking accuracies can be maintained between the data tracks on the tape media and the transducer.
Positioning of the tape media in the transverse direction usually requires some transverse bending of the tape media. This bending can introduce stresses and strains in the tape media that reduce its useful life span. Contact between the tape media edges and the referenced guide surfaces causes wear and tear on the tape media edges over prolonged periods. Edge wear and damage can result in increased tracking errors and result in the generation of particulates that can interfere with the read-write process between the tape media and the transducer.
Close mechanical tolerances must be maintained between a tape media storage spool and the tape guides to minimize the transverse bending of the tape media and the force with which the tape media edges contact the storage spool. Tracking errors are especially noticeable where the tape media leaving the storage spool is misaligned with the edge guides that transversely position the media before the transducer. Misalignments can be due to conditions such as stagger wrap and pre-stress in the tape media as it is wrapped around the storage spool. Mechanical misalignment and design tolerance stacking between the storage spool, a cartridge housing surrounding the storage spool, and cartridge mounting hardware holding the cartridge can also play a significant role in creating tracking errors. Other factors include manufacturing defects in the storage spool and cartridge housings, manual handling dynamics of the storage spool and cartridge, robotic handling dynamics of the storage spool and cartridge, shelf-life problems, and environmentally induced creep, shrink and stretch due to temperature, humidity and tension/handling stresses.
The present invention is a guide mechanism and a method for positioning a tape media in a transverse direction with respect to a transducer as the tape media is moved from a first spool to a second spool. A first surface guide is disposed between the first spool and the transducer. This first surface guide engages at least one of the two surfaces of the tape media to orient the tape media non-planer with respect to the transverse direction. This orientation reduces the tape media stiffness in the transverse direction, making the tape media easier to bend in the transverse direction. A second surface guide is disposed between the transducer and the first surface guide. The second surface guide engages at least one of the two surfaces of tape media to orient the surfaces approximately parallel to the transverse direction. In this orientation, the transverse stiffness of the tape media is at its maximum, and the media-side surface of the tape media is now parallel to the face of the transducer. A first edge guide is disposed adjacent to the transducer. The first edge guide engages at least one of the two edges of the tape media to precisely position the tape media in the transverse direction. The first edge guide may be mounted on, or mounted independent of the second surface guide.
A mirrored set of surface guides and an edge guide may be disposed between the transducer and the second spool to provide highly accurate transverse positioning when the tape media moves from the second spool across the face of the transducer and back to the first spool.
In the preferred embodiment, the first surface guide orients the tape media surfaces into a plane normal to the transverse direction. This requires the first spool""s axis of rotation also to rest in a plane normal to the transverse direction. Here, the tape media leaves the first spool and then undergoes a 90xc2x0 twist between the first surface guide and the second surface guide. The first edge guide provides final transverse positioning of the tape media just before it engages the transducer. Finally, the tape media is wound around the second spool.
A second twist can be introduced in the tape path to allow the first spool, the second spool, and the transducer to remain in a common plane. The second twist is caused by an additional surface guide disposed between the first surface guide and the first spool. This additional surface guide engages at least one of the two tape media surfaces to orient the tape media surfaces approximately parallel to the axis of rotation of the first spool which itself is parallel to the transverse direction.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a guide mechanism for transverse positioning a tape media with respect to a transducer that utilizes the lower lateral stiffness of the tape media, as compared with the transverse stiffness, to allow the tape media to be easily positioned in the transverse direction.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of positioning a tape media in a transverse direction with respect to a transducer that utilizes the lower lateral stiffness of the tape media, as compared with the transverse stiffness, to allow the tape media to be easily positioned in the transverse direction.
These and other objects, features, and advantages will be readily apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Tape guide mechanism which orients tape in transverse and normal-to-transverse directions for adjusting tape stiffness