A bullet system including a bullet body with a tail portion engaged with a polymer cup that provides enhanced engagement of the barrel upon firing. The bullet system may have a radial retracted state that corresponds to an elongated axial state of the bullet system that allows the cupped bullet to be fed down the barrel at a reduced diameter with reduced engagement with the barrel. The radial expansion of the bullet system occurs upon axial length reduction of the bullet system by axial compression. The axial compression can occur upon firing of the propellant or when loading with the ramrod. The bullet system can provide a tactile seat force indicator tip insert within the tip of the bullet body that provides a tactile sensation when the bullet is properly seated against the propellant charge. A cutting edge may be provided for scraping the barrel upon insertion of the bullet.

Muzzleloaders are a class of firearms in which the propellant charge and bullet are separately loaded into the barrel immediately prior to firing. Unlike modern breech loaded firearms where the bullet, propellant charge and primer are loaded as prepackaged cartridges, conventional muzzleloaders are loaded by feeding a propellant charge through the muzzle of the barrel before ramming a bullet down the barrel with a ramrod until the bullet is seated against the propellant charge at the breech end of the barrel. A primer is then fitted to the exterior end of a hole in the breech end of the barrel. The primer is then struck by an internal inline firing pin or an external hammer to ignite the propellant charge through the hole in the breech end of the barrel to create propellant gases for propelling the bullet.
The loading process of muzzleloaders creates issues unique to muzzleloaders. Specifically, the muzzleloader loading process requires that, unlike conventional breech loaded firearms, the bullet travel through the barrel twice, once during loading and once during firing. The tight fit of the bullet to the barrel can create substantial friction as the bullet travels through the barrel and is etched by the barrel rifling. During firing, the expanding propellant gases can overcome the frictional forces to propel the bullet through the barrel. However, during loading, the user must overcome the frictional force by applying an axial force to the bullet with the ramrod until the bullet is seated against the propellant charge. The friction between the bullet and the barrel can complicate the determination as to whether the bullet has been pushed far enough down the barrel during loading and is properly seated against the propellant charge. The relative position of the bullet to the propellant charge changes the pressurization of the barrel behind the bullet from the ignited propellant gases impacting the ballistic performance and potentially creating a substantial safety risk.
A recent trend in muzzleloading is placing an undersized bullet within a polymer sabot in a barrel sized for a larger caliber bullet. The undersized bullet body has a higher muzzle velocity than the larger caliber bullet providing improved ballistic characteristics. The sabot is sized to approximate the inner diameter of the barrel such that the sabot tightly seals against the barrel to efficiently propel the bullet and engage the rifling of the barrel to impart spin to the bullet. The sabot typically comprises a plurality of pedals or other unfurling element that unfurl from the bullet to separate the sabot from the bullet as the bullet leaves the muzzle to disengage from the bullet. While the sabot substantially improves the ballistic performance of the muzzleloader, the polymer sabot can be damaged or deformed by passing through the barrel and engaging the rifling twice. The deformation of the sabot or damage to the sabot can cause the sabot to release the bullet prematurely or impart a wobble to the bullet.
A similar concern with muzzleloaders is that the slower burning propellant required by muzzleloaders often foul the barrel with unconsumed residue requiring frequent cleaning of the barrel. The fouling often occurs so quickly that the barrel must be cleaned after every shot. The fouling can also interfere with the operation the sabot causing the sabot to begin to unfurl from the bullet prematurely within the barrel or break up within the barrel. In addition to contributing the fouling of the barrel, the deformation or damage to the sabot can impart wobble into the bullet or otherwise impact the ballistic performance of the bullet.
An additional complication is that the actual inner diameter of the barrel for given caliber can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. A 50 caliber barrel can have an actual inner diameter ranging from 0.497 to 0.505 inches depending on the manufacturer. Similarly, a 45 caliber bullet saboted for use in a 50 caliber barrel can have an outer diameter varying from 0.450 to 0.452 inches, which in turn changes the outer diameter of the sabot the bullet is seated within. Although the variance is relatively small, the variance in tolerances between the inner diameter of the barrel and the outer diameter of the sabot can result in substantially increased friction between the cupped bullet and the barrel, which can cause the bullet to become stuck within the barrel during firing or loading. Similarly, an improper fit between the barrel and an undersized sabot can create an inefficient seal between the sabot and the barrel allowing gases to escape around the bullet during firing. Accordingly, if the sabot-bullet pairing is not properly selected, the effectiveness of the muzzleloader can be substantially impacted.
A similar variability in muzzleloaders not present in cartridge based firearms is the variability of the size of the propellant charge. Unlike cartridge firearms where a cartridge is preloaded with a bullet and premeasured quantity of propellant is loaded into the firearm for firing, the bullet and propellant charge are combined within the firearm for firing. Accordingly, the muzzleloader operator can select the optimal bullet, propellant type and quantity combination for each shot, which is particularly advantageous given the long reloading time for muzzleloaders. While the variability of the bullet—propellant charge combination allows for an optimized shot, varying the bullet and in particular the propellant and quantity of propellant can significantly change the appropriate seating depth of the bullet. With loose or powdered propellant such as black powder, the amount of propellant is often varied between 80 and 120 volumetric grains. Similarly, propellants are often formed into cylindrical pellets that are stacked end-to-end within the barrel to form the propellant charges. The pellets are typically each about 1 cm in length and loaded in 1 to 3 pellet groups causing an even greater variation in the seating depth.
A common approach to determining whether a bullet has been properly seated involves marking the ramrod with a visual indicator that aligns with the muzzle of the barrel when the end of the ramrod is at the appropriate depth with the barrel. The visual indicator is typically marked by loading the propellant charge and ramming a test bullet through the barrel. Once the user is certain that the bullet is properly seated against the propellant charge, the corresponding portion of the ramrod at the muzzle is marked. Although this approach is relatively easy to implement and widely used, the visual indicator approach detracts from the primary advantages of muzzleloaders. As the visual indicator approach is set based on a particular propellant charge and bullet combination, a variation in the propellant charge that changes the dimensions of the propellant charge can render the visual indicator at best useless or at worse a safety risk giving a false appearance of a properly seated bullet.
As discussed above, the fouling can interfere with the safe operation of the muzzleloader as well as the ballistic performance of the bullet. While firing the muzzleloader can be comparatively safer method of unloading the bullet, the muzzleloader must often be cleaned after each firing. In a hunting situation where the muzzleloader may be fired several times to unload the muzzleloader for transport, the barrel may require cleaning, which can be difficult in the field.
A current approach to addressing the reloading problem is replacing the closed breech end of the muzzleloader barrel with a screw-in, removable breech plug. The breech plug is removable from the breech end of the muzzle to remove the propellant charge from behind the bullet rather than attempting the remove the bullet from the muzzle end of the barrel. While the approach is effective in safely separating the propellant charge from the bullet, a common problem with removable breech plugs is seizing of the breech plug within the barrel. The rapid temperature changes during firing as well as the corrosive nature of many of the propellants can result in seizing of the corresponding threads of the breech plug and the barrel. If not carefully maintained, the breech plug will become difficult to remove to efficiently unload the muzzleloader.
A related concern is that the performance of the hygroscopic propellant itself can be easily and often detrimentally impacted by the environmental conditions in which the propellant is stored. The sensitivity of the propellant can often result in "hang fires" where the ignition of the propellant charge is delayed or the propellant charge fails to ignite altogether. Hang fires are frequent occurrences and create a substantial risk for the user. The conventional approach to dealing with a hang fire is to point the muzzleloader in a safe direction until the muzzleloader fires or until sufficient time has passed to reasonably assume that the propellant charge failed to ignite altogether. The unloading process through the muzzle of the muzzleloader is particularly dangerous in hang fire situations as the propellant charge may ignite during the actual unloading process. Similarly, unloading through a breech plug can similarly be dangerous as the propellant charge may ignite as the breech plug is removed.
Another safety concern unique to muzzleloaders is an undersized or oversized propellant charge. Unlike cartridge firearms where the amount of propellant loaded for each shot is limited by the internal volume of the cartridge, the amount of propellant loaded for each shot in muzzleloaders is only limited by the length of the barrel. While measures are often used to provide a constant quantity of propellant for each propellant charge, the measures can be difficult to use in the field or in low light situation when hunting often occurs. Similarly, propellant can be formed into the pre-sized pellets that can be loaded one at a time until the appropriate amount of propellant is loaded. As with the measure, loading the appropriate number of pellets can be challenging in the field or in low light situations.
The fit between the barrel and bullet can impact the ballistic performance of the muzzleloader. However, tightly fitting the bullet to the barrel can make properly seating of the bullet against the propellant charge and determining the position of the bullet within the barrel during loading difficult. Accordingly, there is a need for efficiently loading and seating a muzzleloader bullet within the barrel while tightly fitting the bullet to the walls and rifling of the barrel.


Apparatus and method for handling system information in mobile telecommunications system user equipment, wherein updates are applied in a defined order. In particular, in 3G UMTS systems, when System Information Block (SIB) SIB 11 and SIB 12 are received with information elements relating to cell information list (e.g. “intra-frequency cell info list”, “inter-frequency cell info list” and “Inter-RAT cell info list”) then the system information associated with the system information block information element in SIB 11 is applied before the system information associated with the system information block information element in SIB 12.

1. Technical Field
This application relates to mobile telecommunications systems in general, having particular application in UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) in general, and to an apparatus and method for handling system information in mobile telecommunications system user equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In a typical cellular radio system, mobile user equipment (UE) communicates via a radio access radio network (RAN) to one or more core networks. User equipment (UE) comprises various types of equipment such as mobile telephones (also known as cellular or cell phones), lap tops with wireless communication capability, personal digital assistants (PDAs) etc. These may be portable, hand held, pocket sized, installed in a vehicle etc and communicate voice and/or data signals with the radio access network.
In the following, reference will be made to UMTS and to particular standards. However it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to any particular mobile telecommunications system.
The radio access network covers a geographical area divided into a plurality of cell areas. Each cell area is served by at least one base station, which in UMTS may be referred to as a Node B. Each cell is identified by a unique identifier which is broadcast in the cell. The base stations communicate at radio frequencies over an air interface with the UEs within range of the base station. Several base stations may be connected to a radio network controller (RNC) which controls various activities of the base stations. The radio network controllers are typically connected to a core network.
UMTS is a third generation public land mobile telecommunication system. Various standardization bodies are known to publish and set standards for UMTS, each in their respective areas of competence. For instance, the 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) has been known to publish and set standards for GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) based UMTS, and the 3GPP2 (Third Generation Partnership Project 2) has been known to publish and set standards for CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) based UMTS. Within the scope of a particular standardization body, specific partners publish and set standards in their respective areas.
Consider a wireless mobile device, generally referred to as user equipment (UE), that complies with the 3GPP specifications for the UMTS protocol. The 3GPP 25.331 specification, v.3.15.0, referred to herein as the 25.331 specification, addresses the subject of UMTS RRC (Radio Resource Control) protocol requirements between the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) and the UE.
In mobile telecommunications system, measurements are taken periodically to ensure that the mobile device is in communication with the most appropriate part of the network. The network also transmits, in either a broadcast or a dedicated fashion, system information that mobile device uses to control the communication with the network.
The system information may be transmitted as system information blocks (SIBs), each of which has a defined purpose. System information elements (IEs) are broadcast in the system information blocks. A master information block may also be implemented and may optionally also contain reference and scheduling information to one or more scheduling blocks, which give references and scheduling information for additional system information blocks. Scheduling information for a system information block may be included in either the master information block or one of the scheduling blocks.
Table 8.1.1. of the 25.331 specification provides a specification of the system information blocks transmitted by the network in a UMTS network. SIB 11 is used in Idle Mode and in connected mode when the UE is in one of the following states: CELL_FACH, CELL_PCH or URA_PCH. SIB 12 is used in connected mode when the UE is in one of the following states: CELL_FACH, CELL_PCH or URA_PCH. According to Table 8.1.1, if system information block type 12 is not broadcast in a cell, the connected mode UE shall read System information block type 11: If some of the optional IEs are not included in System information block type 12, the UE shall read the corresponding IEs in System information block type 11.
There are occasions when both SIB 11 and SIB 12 are transmitted and one SIB contains an IE that is also contained in the other SIB. For instance, in clause 188.8.131.52.11 of the 25.331 standard it is stated that, when SIB 11 is received, the UE acts upon the received IE "Intra-frequency cell info list"/"Inter-frequency cell info list"/"Inter-RAT cell info list" as described in subclause 188.8.131.52. It is also stated in clause 184.108.40.206.11 that, if in connected mode and System Information Block type 12 is indicated as used in the cell, the UE will read and act on information sent in System Information Block type 12 as indicated in clause 18.104.22.168.12. Clause 188.8.131.52.12 then says that, when SIB 12 is received, the UE acts upon the received IE "Intra-frequency cell info list"/"Inter-frequency cell info list"/"Inter-RAT cell info list" as described in subclause 184.108.40.206.
There are thus proposed strategies for handling system information in user equipment. A number of such strategies are detailed below.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of an apparatus and method for handling system information in mobile telecommunications system user equipment.


Distilled tall oil may be reacted with phenol-containing organic compound, formaldehyde or reactive equivalent thereof and hydroxyl-containing non-phenolic organic compound to prepare a resin. The resin may be formulated with a colorant to provide an ink for lithographic printing.

The reaction products of phenol or derivatives thereof with formaldehyde or reactive equivalents thereof are well known. See, e.g., Peter W. Kopf, "Phenolic Resins", Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, vol. 11, pp. 45-94 John Wiley & Sons, N.Y., 1988. These resins may be used as binders in various inks and coatings, however their use is somewhat limited by their high cost. Less expensive phenolic-type resins are prepared when rosin is included among the reactants that form a phenolic resin. These so-called "rosin-phenolic" resins are widely used today in lithographic printing processes. See, e.g., Roger E. Burke, "Rosin-based Printing Inks", Naval Stores, Chapter 10, Pulp Chemicals Association (1989).
However, the increasingly popular use of rosin in other applications, such as tackifiers and other types of resins for various printing and coating processes, has increased competition for an essentially fixed amount of rosin, and increased the incentive to use alternatives to rosin-phenolic resins.
A by-product of the sulfate pulping process is crude tall oil (CTO), and a by-product of CTO fractionation is distilled tall oil (DTO). DTO is an impure material, containing at least three major classes of components. DTO does not have the resin acid content of rosin, nor the fatty acid content of TOFA, where rosin and TOFA are both obtained from CTO and have both found many commercial applications. Instead, DTO is an ill-defined mixture of various thermally-induced isomerization and dimerization products. To date, DTO has not received great commercial acceptance.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for useful products that can take advantage of the unique composition and reactivity of DTO. There is also a need in the art for processes that can be used to convert/incorporate DTO into useful products. There is a further need in the art for viable alternatives to rosin-phenolic ink resins. The present invention addresses these long-standing needs, and provides other related advantages, as discussed below.

Modified phenolic resin and uses related thereto


Fluid ejection devices include a substrate having a cavity, a counter electrode formed on the substrate, a actuator membrane formed on the substrate, a roof layer formed on the substrate and a nozzle formed in the roof layer. Methods for forming fluid ejection devices include forming a cavity in a substrate, forming a counter electrode on the substrate, forming a actuator membrane on the substrate, forming a roof layer on the substrate and forming a nozzle in the roof layer.

1. Field of Invention
This invention is directed to fluid ejection devices and methods for forming fluid ejection devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Various mechanisms are known for practicing inkjet printing. Mass production of inkjet printheads, however, can be quite complicated and expensive. For example, according to some techniques, it is necessary to manufacture an orifice plate or nozzle plate separately from an ink supply and ink ejection actuator, and to later bond the plate to the device substrate. Employing such separate material processing steps to manufacture precision devices often adds significantly to the expense of production.
Side shooting inkjet technologies are employed in some applications, but again, manufacture of side shooting inkjet printheads is sufficiently inefficient as to make mass production undesirable. More esoteric manufacturing techniques have also been employed. For example, inkjet aperture plates can be formed by electroforming, wafer bonding, laser ablation and micro-punching, etc. Such techniques, however, also add substantial expense to the mass production of inkjet printheads and therefore increase consumer costs.
For high-quality inkjet printheads, it is necessary or desirable to have high nozzle density. Further, it is desirable that construction of the printheads be performed as simply as possible. One important strategy for simplifying construction and for increasing nozzle density is to limit the number of steps in construction and reduce the amount of misalignment between the device substrate and the aperture plate. Accordingly, it is desirable to monolithically form an ink chamber from a wafer instead of bonding a nozzle plate to a die to reduce cost and obtain high yields in production.
Where an inkjet printhead is of a mechanical type including many actuator devices, it is important to ensure that a substantial clearance is provided between an ink ejector nozzle plate and the surface of the actuator device. Unless a clearance on the order of 10-100 microns is provided, a number of problems may arise. For example, if the actuator membrane and the ink aperture plate are too close, an insufficient amount of ink flows into the ink chamber during an allowed ink refill period, and can result in ink starvation during operation. Ink starvation can result in missing droplets and/or insufficient droplet volume. Reducing jetting frequency and providing a longer ink refill period could improve performance, but such tactics are undesirable in view of their adverse impact on efforts to optimize operation speed and print quality.
The rapid advance of inkjet printing technology has changed the nature of the consumer printer market and has had significant impact on related areas of image/text production and microfluids manipulation. One of the forces that has driven the success of inkjet printers in the consumer market is the affordable cost of such devices and systems.
Of the manufacturing techniques for fabricating ink chambers including aperture plates, the most popular current approaches include wafer bonding, electro-forming and laser ablation of polymers. None of these approaches are wafer-level monolithic approaches. In view of the complexity and expense of such techniques, much effort has been expended on the development of monolithic approaches to inkjet printhead fabrication. Such efforts have focused on improving printing quality while reducing printhead cost.

Fluid ejection devices and methods for forming such devices


In various embodiments, a surgical stapling head is provided that may comprise a staple cartridge for supporting one or more staples, a core movable relative to the staple cartridge, at least one staple driver extending from the core, and a casing configured to at least partially hold the staple cartridge and movably receive the core and the staple driver(s). The casing may further comprise at least one retention member that is configured to move from a first position to a second position when sufficient external force is applied to the retention member, such as that provided by a shaft of a surgical stapler during insertion of the stapling head assembly into the shaft. When the retention member(s) are at the second position, the staple driver(s) may be prevented from driving staples from the staple cartridge, thereby providing a firing lockout feature to the stapling head assembly during insertion into at least a portion of a surgical stapler.

The embodiments relate, in general, to surgical staplers, and, more particularly, to a circular stapler including a discrete staple height adjustment.
In certain types of surgical procedures, the use of surgical staples has become the preferred method of joining tissue and, as such, specially configured surgical staplers have been developed for these applications. For example, intra-luminal or circular staplers have been developed for use in a surgical procedure known as an anastomosis. Circular staplers useful for performing an anastomosis are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,104,025; 5,205,459; 5,285,945; and 5,309,927, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/408,905, which are each herein incorporated by reference in their respective entireties.
One form of an anastomosis comprises a surgical procedure wherein sections of intestine are joined together after a diseased portion has been excised. The procedure requires re-joining the ends of the two tubular sections together to form a continuous tubular pathway. Previously, this surgical procedure was a laborious and time consuming operation. The surgeon had to precisely cut and align the ends of the intestine and maintain the alignment while joining the ends with numerous suture stitches. The development of circular staplers has greatly simplified the anastomosis procedure and also decreased the time required to perform an anastomosis.
In general, a conventional circular stapler typically consists of an elongated shaft that has a proximal actuating mechanism and a distal stapling mechanism mounted to the shaft. The distal stapling mechanism commonly consists of a fixed stapling cartridge that contains a plurality of staples configured in a concentric circular array. A round cutting knife is concentrically mounted in the cartridge interior to the staples for axial travel therein. Extending axially from the center of the cartridge is a movable trocar shaft that is adapted to have a staple anvil removably coupled thereto. The anvil is configured to form the ends of the staples as they are driven into it. The distance between a distal face of the staple cartridge and the staple anvil is controlled by an adjustment mechanism mounted to the proximal end of the stapler shaft for controlling the axial movement of the trocar. Tissue clamped between the staple cartridge and the staple anvil is simultaneously stapled and cut when the actuating mechanism is activated by the surgeon.
Generally, in the performance of a surgical anastomotic stapling operation, two pieces of lumen or tubular tissue, e.g., intestinal tissue, are attached together by a ring of staples. The two pieces of tubular tissue may be attached end to end or one piece of tubular tissue may be attached laterally around an opening formed in the side of another piece of tubular tissue. In performing the anastomosis with a stapling instrument, the two pieces of tubular tissue are clamped together between the anvil and the staple cartridge. A staple pusher is advanced to drive the staples into the tissue and form the staples against the anvil. Also, the circular knife is advanced to cut the excess tissue clamped between the anvil and the staple holder. As a result, a donut-shaped section of tissue is severed from each lumen and remains on the anvil shaft. The tubular tissue joined by the circular ring of staples is unclamped by advancing the anvil shaft distally to move the anvil away from the staple holder. The stapling instrument is removed by pulling the anvil through the circular opening between the pieces of tubular tissue attached by the ring of staples.
Further, when performing a lower colon procedure using a circular stapler, the intestine is typically stapled using a conventional surgical stapler with double rows of staples being emplaced on either side of the diseased portion of intestine to be removed. The target section is simultaneously cut as the adjoining end is stapled. After removing the diseased portion, the surgeon typically inserts the anvil into the proximal end of the lumen, proximal of the staple line. This is done by inserting the anvil head into an entry port cut into the proximal lumen by the surgeon. On occasion, the anvil can be placed transanally, by placing the anvil head on the distal end of the stapler and inserting the instrument through the rectum. The surgeon then ties the proximal end of the intestine to the anvil shaft using a suture or other conventional tying device. Next, the surgeon cuts excess tissue adjacent to the tie and the surgeon attaches the anvil to the trocar shaft of the stapler. The surgeon then closes the gap between the anvil and cartridge, thereby clamping the proximal and distal ends of the intestine in the gap. The surgeon next actuates the stapler causing several rows of staples to be driven through both ends of the intestine and formed, thereby joining the ends and forming a tubular pathway. Simultaneously, as the staples are driven and formed, the concentric circular knife blade is driven through the intestinal tissue ends, cutting the ends adjacent to the inner row of staples. The surgeon then withdraws the stapler from the intestine and the procedure is complete.
During the above-described surgical procedures, it is desirable to properly form staples within a range of staple heights such that they are retained in the tissue and prevent leakage and bleeding and to achieve "tissue-to-tissue" contact which promotes tissue healing. In general, by controlling the distance or gap between the anvil and the cartridge, better stapling and healing results may be achieved. While some surgical staplers are equipped with a visual readout indicating staple height, a surgeon may need to focus on many different items during surgery. Further, once the anvil has been properly positioned, it is necessary that the anvil not move during firing, otherwise proper staple formation could be adversely affected.
The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate the present field and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Surgical stapling head assembly with firing lockout for a surgical stapler


The present invention provides a current control apparatus applied to a transistor. The transistor has a control terminal, a first terminal, and a second terminal. The current control apparatus includes a current control module, a first current mirror module, a second current mirror module, a current subtractor, and a current adjusting module. The current control apparatus provided by the present invention can be applied to a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) to prevent temperature measurement errors from occurring when using a dual current mode temperature measurement method to measure the temperature of the BJT.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a current control apparatus, and more particularly, to a current control apparatus that can be applied to a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) to prevent temperature measurement errors from occurring when using a dual current mode temperature measurement method to measure the temperature of the BJT.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram of a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) 100 in accordance with prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the BJT 100 has a base terminal, an emitter terminal, and a collector terminal. The base current Ib, the emitter current Ie, and the collector current Ic of the BJT 100 have the following connections:Ib+Ie+Ic=0Ie=−(β+1)Ic/β
In addition, a person of average skill in the pertinent art of the BJT should be able to understand about how to use a dual current mode temperature measurement method to measure the temperature of the BJT 100. The dual current mode temperature measurement method measures an emitter current Ie1 and another emitter current Ie2 of the BJT 100 at different times and calculates a temperature measurement result accordingly. However, since the temperature of the BJT is related to a ratio between a collector current Ic1 and another collector current Ic2, when β value of the BJT 100 becomes smaller in the advanced process and varies according to the current variation, the above temperature measurement method is unable to obtain the actual ratio between a collector current Ic1 and another collector current Ic2. Thus, the above condition will result in serious temperature measurement errors.

Current control apparatus applied to transistor


A new and distinct cultivar of Begonia plant named ‘KROUTOR01’, characterized by its upright to broadly spreading and mounded plant habit; freely basal branching habit; dark green-colored leaves; large single-type dark orange-colored flowers; and excellent garden performance.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Begonia plant, botanically known as Begonia boliviensis×Begonia×tuberhybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name 'KROUTOR01'.
The new Begonia plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Ermelo, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Begonia plants with excellent outdoor performance.
The new Begonia plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Ermelo, The Netherlands in March, 2006 of Begonia boliviensis 'Bonfire', disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,108, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Begonia×tuberhybrida identified as code number KV02K0352-013, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Begonia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Ermelo, The Netherlands in February, 2007.
Asexual reproduction of the new Begonia plant by cuttings taken in a controlled greenhouse environment in Ermelo, The Netherlands since July, 2007 has shown that the unique features of this new Begonia plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


The present invention includes a method for selecting appropriate forward error correction and automatic repeat request parameters for protection of a multicarrier communication channel. The multicarrier communication channel may be wired or wireless. Particular aspects of the present invention are described in the claims, specification and drawings.

High-speed communication channels are available for wired and wireless communication. Forward error correction (FEC) codes, such as the Reed Solomon code, often protect high-speed channels. FEC codes work well to protect against random white noise, but less effectively against burst noise. In some circumstances, an automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocol provides much better channel protection than FEC by itself. When ARQ is enabled, the parameters for channel protection can be adjusted accordingly. Standards which enable the use of ARQ do not specify values for applicable parameters; standards leave the operating parameters open, to be adapted to circumstances.
Therefore, it is desirable to introduce the method and device for selecting parameters to be used when ARQ is enabled for channel protection.

Method and apparatus for selection of ARQ parameters and estimation of improved communications


A machine for conveying, discharging and stacking sheets such as carton blanks is disclosed in which the velocity of the blanks is substantially reduced as they are discharged from the conveyor into the stacking area.

In the printing and die cutting of flat articles such as, for example, corrugated sheets or "blanks" which are subsequently folded and glued to form boxes and other forms of containers, it is well known to position a stacker, or so-called "stacker-conveyor," at the discharge of the last section of the printing and/or processing machine; the last section of the production machine usually being a die cutter section which slots the printed container blanks and forms the necessary flaps and tabs. The purpose of the stacker-conveyor is to convey the blanks from the last section of the production machine to a spaced-apart location at which the blanks are stacked upon each other to form vertical stacks which are then banded and removed to a further location for shipping.
Because the printing and/or processing machines, including the die cutter section, operate at very high production speeds such as, for example, at output speeds of 1,000 feet per minute, there has long been a serious problem with the discharge end of the stacker-conveyors. That is, while the conveyor portion may be matched in speed to that of the production machine, the discharge or exit velocities of the blanks are so high that the leading edge of the blanks become seriously damaged as they strike the abutment wall defining the forward vertical line of the stacked pile of blanks. Many prior attempts have been made to solve this problem, but none have been satisfactory.


The invention relates to an airbag system for a vehicle, including a first airbag and a second airbag situated largely above the first airbag in the intended main supporting direction. Both airbags may be triggered chronologically. In the airbag system both airbags may include a separate gas supply and may effectively interact to provide a larger airbag volume without substantial loss of time. When both airbags are activated, the second airbag deploys largely on the surface of the first airbag. Due to the separate gas supply, both airbags may be triggered simultaneously and independently of one another. It is also possible for only the second airbag to be triggered and for the first airbag to remain inactive. Thus, the airbag system covers a wider range of load conditions. The system helps by allowing the vehicle occupants more freedom in choosing their sitting positions.

Airbags in vehicles contribute significantly to increasing occupant safety. The size of an airbag is limited by various physical parameters. It is currently limited in its volume, because a single airbag becomes unstable with increasing volumes. In addition, larger airbags are not so rapidly inflatable. An inflator for airbags is not able to fill arbitrarily large airbags in a required amount of time. The airbag systems available today are sufficient to protect the vehicle occupants, if the vehicle occupants are in the intended standard sitting position. A standard sitting position is the sitting position currently provided in vehicles, in which the guidance of the vehicle is left to one person. Such a standard sitting position is assumed, for example, by a driver or passenger on his/her seat, wherein the passenger faces the direction of travel.
Due to advances in autonomous driving or in piloted driving, it is not always absolutely necessary for the vehicle occupants to have to remain in their standard sitting positions. Thus, there is a need to leave the standard sitting position and assume a different position within the vehicle. Such sitting positions that differ from the standard sitting positions are often referred to as "out-of-position" (OoP) positions. If a vehicle occupant is in an OoP position, he/she is no longer positioned in the provided area of protection of an airbag. Other different situations and load conditions also mean that a vehicle occupant is no longer optimally protected by an airbag. Such situations are, for example, vehicle occupants who are not buckled up, so-called passive load conditions, or who move away from a dashboard, for example, in order to assume a sleeping position. Also conceivable are so-called "oblique-load conditions", in which a vehicle occupant strikes an airbag obliquely. Such sitting positions that differ from the standard sitting positions are described below by the OoP positions. Even in these cases, it is highly desirable if, in the event of an accident, an airbag system is present which is able to effectively protect the vehicle occupants who are in an OoP position. Such OoP positions are made possible by piloted or autonomous driving, since a driver is not required to constantly have control of his vehicle. In order to allow the vehicle occupant greater freedom in the selection of sitting positions, without exposing them to an excessive risk of injury in an accident, larger, voluminous and more stable airbags are needed, which must nevertheless be filled in a very short period of time. This is not manageable or manageable only insufficiently with today's systems and technologies.
The document DE 100 52 599 A1 discloses a double airbag, which consists of two superimposed airbags. The first airbag is kept flatter by seven centimeters in volume than the conventional airbag, and is filled with the standard air pressure. The second airbag is placed within the pared down volume but filled with reduced air pressure so that it cushions the head like a feather pillow.
The utility model DE 201 07 108 U1 relates to an airbag grid adjustment to body size. The grid adjustment of 1.5 meters to 2.0 meters is adapted to a 5 centimeter grid adjustment of the body size.
The document DE 60 2005 002 762 T2 relates to a double-airbag device comprising a double-airbag and a support airbag. The double airbag in this case may include a left and a right airbag. This document describes exemplary operations of the airbag system. In this case, certain airbags may deploy while others may not. The level of inflation of the double airbag may be adapted as a function of the sitting position and of the size of the passenger.
The document KR 10 2001 00 555 79 A operates a double airbag system. A first airbag is situated below a second airbag. Controllable air nozzles are installed between both airbags. By controlling these air nozzles, it is possible to control the amount of air that is to enter the second airbag.
The present documents provide no indication of how an inflation time of an airbag may be shortened or how larger, more stable airbags may be provided on a timescale similar to a single airbag.

Double airbag system for protecting larger passenger spaces


A light blocking ink includes a vinyl ether compound, an alicyclic epoxy compound, an oxetane compound, a light blocking material, and a photoacid generating agent. The light blocking ink may be employed in a microlens array unit to block stray light. The microlens array unit may be employed in an image processing apparatus.

In a lens array unit used in an optical device, a light blocking film is disposed at an area between adjacent lenses to absorb stray light. Such an optical device can be employed in an image processing apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a multifunction printer (MFP), a facsimile, a scanner, a liquid crystal display device, a solid-state imaging device, a multiple image transmission device of an optical interconnection system, and a confocal laser microscope. In addition, a technology of such a lens array unit can be applied to an optical communication field, an optical disc field, an image display field, an image transmission-connection field, an optical measurement field, an optical sensing field, an optical processing field, and the like.
A method for forming such a light blocking film includes a method of printing black ink, which can be cured by ultraviolet rays, on the area between the adjacent lenses and then curing the ink, a method of developing the film and removing a portion of the film by a photolithography, and the like.

Microlens array unit and image processing apparatus


A method (200) for fabricating patterns on the surface of a layer of a device (100), the method comprising: providing at least one layer (130, 230); adding at least one alkali metal (235) comprising Cs and/or Rb; controlling the temperature (2300) of the at least one layer, thereby forming a plurality of self-assembled, regularly spaced, parallel lines of alkali compound embossings (1300, 1305) at the surface of the layer. The method further comprises forming cavities (236, 1300) by dissolving the alkali compound embossings. The method (200) is advantageous for nanopatterning of devices (100) without using templates and for the production of high efficiency optoelectronic thin-film devices (100).

Fabricating patterns on the surface of devices may confer new or improved properties and functions to said devices. Thin-films of alkali halides may exhibit self-assembly properties that may be employed to create patterns at the surface of layers.
Photovoltaic devices are generally understood as photovoltaic cells or photovoltaic modules. Photovoltaic modules ordinarily comprise arrays of interconnected photovoltaic cells. A thin-film photovoltaic or optoelectronic device is ordinarily manufactured by depositing material layers onto a substrate. A thin-film photovoltaic device ordinarily comprises a substrate coated by a layer stack comprising a conductive layer stack, at least one absorber layer, optionally at least one buffer layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer stack.
The present invention is also concerned with photovoltaic devices comprising an absorber layer generally based on an ABC chalcogenide material, such as an ABC2 chalcopyrite material, wherein A represents elements in group 11 of the periodic table of chemical elements as defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry including Cu or Ag, B represents elements in group 13 of the periodic table including In, Ga, or Al, and C represents elements in group 16 of the periodic table including S, Se, or Te. An example of an ABC2 material is the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 semiconductor also known as CIGS. The invention also concerns variations to the ordinary ternary ABC compositions, such as copper-indium-selenide or copper-gallium-selenide, in the form of quaternary, pentanary, or multinary materials such as compounds of copper-(indium, gallium)-(selenium, sulfur), copper-(indium, aluminium)-selenium, copper-(indium, aluminium)-(selenium, sulfur), copper-(zinc, tin)-selenium, copper-(zinc, tin)-(selenium, sulfur), (silver, copper)-(indium, gallium)-selenium, or (silver, copper)-(indium, gallium)-(selenium, sulfur).
The photovoltaic absorber layer of thin-film ABC or ABC2 photovoltaic devices can be manufactured using a variety of methods such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), spraying, sintering, sputtering, printing, ion beam, or electroplating. The most common method is based on vapor deposition or co-evaporation within a vacuum chamber ordinarily using multiple evaporation sources. Historically derived from alkali material diffusion using soda lime glass substrates, the effect of adding alkali metals to enhance the efficiency of thin-film ABC2 photovoltaic devices has been described in much prior art (RUDMANN, D. (2004) Effects of sodium on growth and properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films and solar cells, Doctoral dissertation, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2014-04-30 from <URL: http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/eserv/eth:27376/eth-27376-02.pdf>).
Thin-films of alkali halides are known to form island structures (BOUTBOUL, T. et al. On the Surface Morphology of Thin Alkali Halide Photocathode Films. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 438 (1999) 409-414).
The present invention presents a method to form nanometric patterns, or nanopatterns at the surface of a device, for example an optoelectronic device's thin-film layer, preferably the device's absorber layer. The present invention builds upon a previous filing (PCT/IB2015/056656 claiming priority of 18 Sep. 2014) referred to as "previous filing" in this description. The nanopatterns may comprise rows or arrays of alkali crystals or compounds of alkali crystals formed by deposition of at least one alkali material onto a thin-film layer. The nanopatterns may also comprise rows or arrays of cavities formed by selectively dissolving said alkali crystals and underlying material that underwent a reaction with said alkali crystals. Said nanopatterns are ordinarily formed into a portion of the thickness of the thin-film layer onto which the alkali material is deposited. Said nanopatterns may also be formed into at least one thin-film layer deposited after deposition of said alkali material. The method may advantageously modify at least one thin-film layer's chemical composition, enlarge developed total surface, enlarge developed surface adequate for receiving doping elements, form point contacts with subsequently deposited thin-film layers, form patterns in subsequently deposited thin-film layers, form patterns that confer specific properties to the device, form patterns that confer new functions to the device. The method may also enable tuning of the device through control of pattern properties such as mean area, spatial density, spatial frequency, mean hole size, or area coverage, of cavities, respectively alkali crystals.
In this document, we define alkali metal as being alkali metal in elemental form or precursor thereof.
The present invention exploits adding at least one alkali metal to a layer, for example to the absorber layer of a thin-film optoelectronic device. The invention especially exploits, under control of layer temperature, self-assembly properties of adding the at least one alkali metal to a layer so as to form patterns. For example, adding at least one alkali metal to a layer modifies at least the physical appearance of the surface of the layer and possibly also the chemical content of the layer. Further treating of at least the surface of the absorber layer will modify its physical appearance to reveal concave nanostructures or nanopatterns. Treating of absorber surface may for example be done with a bathing apparatus. The invention discloses independent control of separate alkali metals during adding to layers of the optoelectronic device, the treating of the absorber surface, and the resulting chemical and physical modifications to at least one absorber layer of the optoelectronic device. Effects of the invention on at least one of the device's thin-film layers include at least one of doping, passivation of absorber surface, interfaces, grain boundaries, and defects, elemental interdiffusion, forming of point contacts, forming of nanoholes of controlled dimensions and spatial distribution, modification of layer roughness, optical characteristics, and optoelectronic characteristics such as enhanced open circuit voltage and fill factor. The invention's adding of at least one alkali metal and treating absorber surface enables manufacturing of a thinner optimal buffer layer. In some cases a person skilled in the art may advantageously omit manufacturing the buffer layer. This thinner optimal buffer layer results in reduced optical losses, thereby contributing to increase an optoelectronic device's photovoltaic conversion efficiency.

Self-assembly patterning for fabricating thin-film devices


A driving apparatus, a driving method and a liquid crystal display (LCD) using the same are provided, wherein the method includes the following steps of: setting a color display sequence, wherein the color display sequence is RGBG, RGRB or RBGB; alternately reading frame data from a first frame register and a second register according to a frame period having three field periods; and sequentially displaying four color data in a cycle period having four field periods according to the color display sequence and the read frame data. By utilizing the method in the present invention, color loss of a field sequential color display occurred in a lower temperature environment is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving method of a liquid crystal display and more particularly, to a driving apparatus and driving method of a field sequential color liquid crystal display.
2. Description of Related Art
The liquid crystal display (LCD) has advantages such as low power consumption, thinness, light weight, and low driving voltages and thus is widely used in various electronic devices, for example, video recorders and players, notebook computers, desktop displays, mobile phones, and various projection devices. In terms of display devices, the thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) has advantages such as highly effective space usage, low power consumption, and free of radiation so the TFT-LCD has become the main stream of the display market.
Display quality of an LCD is mainly influenced by reaction speed of liquid crystals. In a low temperature environment, reaction speed of liquid crystals becomes low, resulting in color loss in the display. Furthermore, in the field sequential color LCD (FSC-LCD), the order of switching color light of different colors (or a color display sequence of an RGB field period) may also affect the degree of color loss in addition to the reaction speed of liquid crystals. It can be known from simulation, when reaction speed of liquid crystals is low and the color display sequence of an RGB field period is from red (R) to green (G), from green (G) to blue (B), and from blue (B) to red (R), the degree of color loss is more serious as shown in FIG. 1, which is a chromaticity diagram according to prior art.
FIG. 1 illustrates a chromaticity curve range under different reaction speeds of liquid crystals. When the reaction speed of liquid crystals becomes lower, color saturation of the display becomes lower as well, the color that is originally red turns greenish, and the color that is originally green turns bluish.

Driving apparatus, driving method and liquid crystal display using the same


The inventive image recording apparatus records unit images with different combinations of light beams among a plurality of light beams emissive from a recording head when preparing the respective ones of C, M, Y and K plates. Also when the plurality of light beams are dispersed in quantity of light, therefore, density distributions of different tendencies result in the unit images recorded on the respective ones of the C, M, Y and K plates. In a resultant image formed by superposing the unit images with each other, therefore, fluctuation of densities can be canceled and reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and an image recording method recording the respective ones of a plurality of unit images superposed with each other for forming a resultant image with a recording head comprising a plurality of recording sources.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a printing step, a resultant image may be formed by superposing a plurality of unit images such as a plurality of color-component images, for example, with each other. An image recording apparatus preparing printing plates corresponding to the respective ones of the plurality of unit images is employed in this printing step.
FIG. 15 shows an exemplary conventional image recording apparatus 100. In the image recording apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 15, a recording material 120 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical recording drum 110, which is rotated in a main scanning direction (direction Y in FIG. 15) for scanning the recording material 120 with a recording head 130 in a subscanning direction (direction Y in FIG. 15) along an axis 111 of rotation of the recording drum 110. Thus, the image recording apparatus 100 two-dimensionally records unit images on a recording surface of the recording material 120 and prepares printing plates. In order to improve the recording speed, the image recording apparatus 100 employs the recording head 130 of a multichannel system capable of emitting a plurality of light beams B1, B2, . . . toward the recording material 120. The image recording apparatus 100 feeds the recording head 130 by a distance corresponding to the recording width of the plurality of light beams B1, B2, . . . in the subscanning direction during single rotation of the recording drum 110. Therefore, unit images are uninterruptedly recorded on the recording material 120.
If the plurality of light beams B1, B2, . . . are dispersed in quantity of light in this image recording apparatus 100, however, periodic fluctuation (nonuniformity) of densities results in the unit images recorded on the recording material 120.
It is assumed that the quantities of light of the plurality of light beams B1, B2, . . . are sinusoidally distributed as shown in FIG. 7, for example. In this case, the densities of the unit images recorded on the recording material 120 periodically fluctuate as shown in FIG. 8A. A period of this density fluctuation is equal to the recording width of the plurality of light beams B1, B2, . . . . FIG. 8A shows the density distribution of the unit images with reference to only one dimension in the subscanning direction.
When a resultant image is formed by superposing the plurality of unit images (images of printing plates of black, cyan, magenta, yellow, a special color etc., for example) recorded in the aforementioned manner with each other, periodic density fluctuation of the unit images is amplified by the superposition. Therefore, larger density fluctuation appears in the resultant image, as shown in FIG. 8B. Also when the quantities of light of the plurality of light beams B1, B1, B2, . . . are only slightly dispersed, it follows that large density fluctuation appears in the resultant image obtained by superposing the unit images recorded with the light beams B1, B1, B2, . . . with each other.
On the other hand, it is impossible in practice to completely uniformize the quantities of light of the plurality of light beams B1, B1, B2, . . . in the multichannel recording head 130. Therefore, the image recording apparatus 100 requires a technique capable of reducing the density fluctuation in the resultant image obtained by superposing the unit images recorded with the plurality of light beams B1, B1, B2, . . . dispersed in quantity of light.
The cause for the density fluctuation is not only the aforementioned dispersion between the quantities of light of the plurality light beams B1, B1, B2, . . . Fluctuation of the profiles of the individual light beams B1, B1, B2, . . . or dispersion of optical pulse widths modulated on the basis of recorded image signals may also cause density fluctuation.
This problem may be caused not only in an image recording apparatus preparing printing plates but also in an image recording apparatus recording the respective ones of a plurality of unit images superposed with each other for forming a resultant image with the same recording head. This problem may further be caused not only in an image recording apparatus recording unit images with light beams but also in an image recording apparatus recording unit images with a recording head comprising a plurality of independent recording sources.

Image recording apparatus and image recording method


A zoom lens system has, from the object side, a first lens unit and a second lens unit. The first lens unit has a negative optical power. The second lens unit has a positive optical power. The second lens unit includes front and rear lens units which each have a positive optical power. The front lens unit is shifted in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis to compensate for an image blurring. The zoom lens system fulfills the condition 0<.phi.2R/.phi.2F<1.0, where .phi.2R and .phi.2F represent optical powers of the rear and front lens units, respectively.

Conventionally, failures in photographing have resulted mostly from camera shake and out-of-focus state. In recent years, however, the automatic focusing mechanism has been employed in most cameras and as the focusing accuracy of the automatic focusing mechanism improves, the failure in photographing due to out-of-focus state has been virtually solved. On the other hand, lens systems which come standard on cameras have shifted from fixed focal length lens systems to zoom lens systems. As a result, at present, it is no exaggeration to say that failures in photographing are caused by camera shake. For this reason, a camera shake compensation function is indispensable to zoom lens systems.
To solve this problem, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. H6-337374 discloses a two-component zoom lens system of negative, positive configuration in which the whole of the second lens unit is parallelly decentered to compensate for camera shake. Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. H7-64025 discloses a two-component zoom lens system of negative, positive configuration in which the second lens unit is divided into a front lens unit having a positive optical power and a rear lens unit having a negative optical power and the front lens unit having a positive optical power is parallelly decentered to compensate for camera shake.
However, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. H6-337374, since the whole of the second lens unit is moved as a camera shake compensation unit, the load imposed on the camera shake compensation drive system is heavy. In Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. H7-64025, since evaluation is performed with a camera shake angle of 0.2 degrees, camera shake cannot be completely compensated for when a greater camera shake occurs.


An ignition wire includes a conductive core, an insulation layer surrounding the core, an insulating jacket surrounding the insulation layer and a coating layer which is grafted and bonded to at least a portion of an exterior surface of the insulating jacket. The coating layer and insulating jacket are preferably formed of silicone materials. The coating layer is operative to provide enhanced resistance to heat and abrasion, as well as other benefits to the exterior surface of the insulating jacket. The coating layer may be transparent and provide an aesthetically pleasing clear coat, or may be tinted or colored to produce various other cosmetic or decorative characteristics to the outer surface of the ignition wire. The coating layer provides these enhanced protections without the diminishing electrical or mechanical performance properties of either the insulation layer or the insulating jacket. The coating layer is also adapted to provide protection to a cosmetic layer which may be applied to the exterior surface of the insulating jacket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to insulated electrical conductors and, in particular, to a method for making abrasion resistant ignition wires for spark plugs and similar ignition devices.
2. Related Art
Ignition wires for spark plugs commonly include a conductive core, a conductor or semi-conductor coating layer, a release coating, an electrical insulation layer, a strengthening layer to provide enhanced tensile strength and an insulating outer sheath or jacket, and may also include various adhesive and other inner layers. The outer jacket also frequently includes a cosmetic or decorative layer or printed portion on its outer surface. The layers described above may be arranged in different combinations and orders and their particular arrangement will vary depending on the intended application environment and other factors.
In addition to various solid or stranded metal wire configurations, the conductive core may also comprise a wire-wound configuration. Wire-wound cores typically have a braided or otherwise woven insulating core member, such as a rope, to provide tensile strength. This member may have a ferrite or other coating applied that is in turn wrapped with a metal wire and coated with an adhesive and/or conductive or semi-conductive layer. Examples of such wire wound conductive cores are taught by Miyamoto et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,692 and Coffe et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,171. Miyamoto et al. teach a wire wound ignition cable in which a resistance wire is wound over a woven member, such as a woven aramid string, which has been coated with a chlorinated polyethylene/ferrite mixture to provide the conductive core. The resistance wire and ferrite coated core are in turn coated by a woven strengthening member and an extruded sheath of a blend of polyethylene and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM). Coffe et al. discloses an ignition cable similar in some respects to that taught by Miyamoto et al. in which a conductive core is formed by dip coating a strengthening member formed from a glass fiber bundle with an insulating layer containing a mixture of EPDM and magnetic particles, such as iron oxide. The coated woven core is then helically wrapped with a resistance wire conductor, such as various Ni alloys. The resistance wire of Coffe et al. is then dip coated with a semi-conductive thermoplastic polymer, such as a silicone or acrylic polymer. The semi-conductive thermoplastic polymer contains carbon particles and release agents which allow subsequently applied insulating layers to be stripped away cleanly. The conductive core of Coffe et al. is coated with an insulating layer formed from EDPM, an optional fiberglass braid layer, and a polymer jacket formed from a mixture of EPDM, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, phenolic antioxidant and a metal salt antioxidant. In general, for conductive cores as described in Miyamoto et al. and Coffe et al., a release coating is applied to the exterior of the core or incorporated into a conductive coating in order to promote removal of the insulating layer from the core during the application of terminations or connectors to the ignition wire.
The ignition wire insulation layer may be made from various materials that provide electrical insulation and are resistant to degradation at the elevated operating temperatures of an internal combustion engine. Examples of materials that have been used for the insulating layer in various wire configurations include EPDM and various silicones.
The strengthening layer is typically made from fiberglass and comprises a woven sheath. This layer may be woven over the insulation layer directly or pre-woven and applied over the insulation layer.
The insulating jacket is typically made of a material that is resistant to high levels of heat, as well as abrasion, because it forms the outer wall of the ignition wire. Various materials have been used for the insulating jacket, such as EPDM, various silicones and other materials, depending on the intended application and other factors. The jacket is typically extruded over the insulating layer. The process of extrusion can alter the thermal, mechanical and/or chemical properties of both the jacket and the underlying insulation layer. As such, the overall appearance of the outer surface of the jacket may be affected, as well as the abrasion resistance of the jacket itself.
As noted above, in many ignition wire applications, it is desirable to apply cosmetic or decorative materials, such as various inks and the like, which are used to print information on the wire such as the manufacturer's name, product numbers, wire sizes, manufacturer's logos or trademarks, performance characteristics, specifications, or other important information, as well as ornamental designs. Being located on the outer surface, such materials are subject to high temperatures, abrasion from dirt and other under-hood sources of abrasion, mechanical stress, chemicals and other agents which promote their degradation.
To improve the mechanical, thermal and chemical properties of the insulated wires, the jacket may include a coating material coated thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,362 to Kawaguchi et al. discloses an electrical insulated metallic wire comprising a releasing layer coated on the metallic wire with a baked-on insulating layer superposed on the releasing layer. The insulating layer is formed on the releasing layer by coating and baking a silicone-containing insulating varnish having a releasing ability on the releasing layer. The releasing ability of the silicone-containing insulating varnish allows the insulating layer to be easily stripped from the releasing layer. It is believed that the construction of Kawaguchi would not be applicable for the protection of the cosmetic or decorative materials or enhancing the abrasion resistance of the jacket because it is applied over a release coating and is designed to be readily removed from the outer surface of the wire jacket.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop ignition wires with improved protection, such as improved heat and abrasion resistance, to the outer surface of the jacket. Further, it is also desirable to develop ignition wires with enhanced protection for cosmetic or decorative materials, such as inks, that are applied to the outer surface of the wire jacket.

Method of making ignition wire with grafted coating


A graphics system includes a graphics processor for rendering graphics primitives with a list of display parameters. A host processor generates a display list which includes an XY address for rendering the graphics primitives. A graphics processor, which includes a bypass logic circuit, enables the graphics processor to temporarily store display list commands in an internal storage device while previously fetched display list data is being processed. The bypass logic circuit allows the graphics processor to bypass the internal storage device and write fetched command directly to an execution unit in the graphics processor. By having the bypass capabilities, the graphics processor is able to optimize the internal storing of commands in the display list in the internal storage unit.

Sophisticated graphics packages have been used for some time in expensive computer design and graphics systems. Increased capabilities of graphics controllers and display systems, combined with standardized graphics languages, have made complex graphics functions available in even the most routine applications. For example, word processor, spread sheets and desktop publishing packages now include relatively sophisticated graphics capabilities. Three-dimensional (3D) displays have become common in games, animation, and multimedia communication and drawing packages.
The availability of sophisticated graphics in PCs has driven a demand for even greater graphics capabilities. To obtain these capabilities, graphics systems must be capable of performing more sophisticated functions in less time to process greater amounts of graphical data required by modern software applications. In particular, there is a continuing need for improvements in software algorithms and hardware implementations to draw three-dimensional objects using full color, texture mapping and transparency blending.
Improvements have been made in the hardware realm. Graphics processors and accelerators are available with software drivers that provide an interface between a host central processing unit and graphics processors. In general, the graphics software receives information for drawing objects on a computer screen, calculates certain basic parameters associated with the objects and provides input to the graphics processor in the form of a "display list" of parameters.
A graphics processor then uses the display list values in generating the graphics objects to be displayed. The graphics processor may use interpolation techniques where the fundamental information for the object to be drawn comprises a series of initial and incremental parameters or values. The graphics processor loads or otherwise receives the initial parameters for the pixels to be drawn, and interpolates to draw the object by incrementing the parameters until the object is completely drawn.
Existing graphics implementations that use display lists typically load data in a sequential format to a register file in the graphics processor. For each type of primitive, a particular set of data values is required to render that type of primitive. For example, a point to be drawn to a pixel grid may require an "x,y" location, color value, and a "z" or depth value for depth comparison. Conversely, if the primitive is a line, the parameters required may also include a slope to describe the line's direction in the x direction, and a count value to define the length in the y direction.
An example of a display list is shown below in Table 1:
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ ADDRESS NAME DESCRIPTION ______________________________________ 0X4000 X Initial X value 0X4004 Y Initial Y value 0X4008 R Initial Red value 0X400C G Initial Green value 0X4014 B Initial Blue value 0X4044 Z Initial depth value ______________________________________
The display list provides the parameters required to draw points, lines, and polygons. The display list provided from the central processor or from memory provides data for the various registers in the register file. The display parameter values are processed by the graphics processor to render the corresponding graphics objects.
For example, a typical polygon may be divided into two separate adjacent triangles. A "main slope" technique requires the calculation of a "main slope" which is defined as the slope of the side that extends the entire vertical length of polygon. Two "opposite slopes" are determined which represent the slopes of the other two sides of the polygon. The slopes and dimensions of the polygon components are used in the creation of graphics images on display units.
In addition to the basic position and color parameters of a polygon, the graphics processor renders other parameters, such as texture parameters, as part of the polygon. These parameters are provided to the graphics processor in a display list generated by the central processing unit (CPU). The graphics processor executes the display list and renders the appropriate pixels for the polygon.
The rendering or interpolation of the graphics primitive is very process-intensive and requires the graphics processor to control the computer system bus or a dedicated communication link with the CPU. However, since prior art graphics processors do not have system bus-mastering capabilities, these graphics processors have to depend on the CPU to handle a bulk of the processing of graphics data in the computer system. Relying on the CPU to process most of the graphics data means that the graphics processor has to compete with other system resources for the CPU's bus bandwidth. This process can be time consuming and may lead to the loss of graphics data between the time such data are processed until the data are displayed on a display screen. The CPU dependence may also affect the overall system performance if there are many graphics applications running concurrently within the system.
It would be advantageous, therefore, if a graphics system were developed which could allow the graphics processor to have bus-mastership of the system bus in a computer system during a write operation of graphics primitive parameters and during renderings of graphics primitives.
It would be further advantageous if the host processor could transmit parameter values as part of the display list which would be internally stored in the graphics processor for subsequent writes to the register file in the graphics processor while the graphics processor is processing other instructions, and without incurring any extra write or clock cycles.
Thus, there is a need for a method of reducing the memory bandwidth of the graphics processor while rendering graphics primitives such as polygons within the graphics subsystem while maintaining the processing speed of CPU.


An aqua-ammonia absorption apparatus comprising an absorber assembly, a generator assembly, a condenser and an evaporator, the generator assembly comprising a boiler section, a solution-heated-desorber section, an adiabatic desorber or GAX desorber section, and a rectifier section, the interior space of at least one of said sections of said generator being substantially filled with structured packing material inert to an aqueous ammonia solution at generator temperatures.

Aqua-ammonia absorption systems incorporate, as the major components, an absorber, generator, condenser, and an evaporator. Such systems, well known in the art, are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,367,884, 5,548,971, 5,367,884, and 5,490,393 the descriptions of which, including system components, features and operation, are incorporated herein by reference. These aqua-ammonia absorption systems may be designed and operated as heat pumps, refrigeration equipment, chillers, heating appliances, and chiller-heaters.
The generator of an aqua-ammonia absorption system operates as a distillation column and includes, as components, a boiler, a stripping section or stripper, and a rectifying section. The composition feed to the generator comprising an ammonia rich liquor from the system absorber, is introduced to the generator at one or more feed or inlet points. The boiler is designed to produce liquid and vapor counter-flow coincident with heat input. Prime heat is introduced over a finite length or height of the boiler resulting in significant change in ammonia concentration in the area of heat input. In some systems, the boiler is replaced by a reboiler in which heat is input from a prime energy source but with no substantial ammonia separation other than from vapor separating in equilibrium from the liquid near the bottom of the column. Thus, a reboiler simply returns vapor to the generator column.
The stripping section comprises all sections of the generator column which are below the highest (coldest) feed point. In the stripping section, heat is recovered from solution leaving the bottom of the distillation column with the recovered heat returned to the portion of the column above the boiler. The stripping section comprises three portions: a solution-heated-desorber (SHD) and either an adiabatic desorber or a generator-absorber heat exchange (GAX) desorber, and the boiler. The SHD is that portion of the stripping section which extracts heat from weak solution, i.e., solution from the bottom of the generator column, before the weak solution is routed to the absorber. The adiabatic desorber of the stripping section has no heat input and is typically located between the coldest feed point and the SHD. The GAX desorber receives heat from the absorber, either by heat transfer using weak liquor from the bottom of the generator column or a secondary fluid. Typically, a generator in a GAX aqua-ammonia absorption system will have a GAX desorber or an adiabatic desorber, but not both. When the system utilizes strong liquor GAX an adiabatic section is used, whereas a GAX desorber is used for weak liquor GAX or secondary fluid GAX. An additional component of a generator is a rectifier which is the section of the generator above the highest (coldest) feed point. Such generators as described above are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in further detail hereinafter.
The feed to the generator column from the system absorber is a rich liquor comprising a solution having a comparatively high ammonia content. Such rich liquor typically has 40% to 50% ammonia, but under some operating conditions may be as low as about 20%. Such a rich liquor is contrasted to a weak liquor directed from the generator to the absorber, which comprises a water-rich composition having between about 1% and about 15% ammonia at rating conditions, and typically between about 3% and about 5% ammonia. In strong liquor GAX absorption cycles, heat is recovered by splitting the rich liquor feed to the generator, one portion passing through the GAX heat exchanger in the absorber while the other portion is routed directly to the generator. The two portions are introduced into the generator at different locations. One feed stream is introduced at or near the rectifier as a single-phase fluid at or below the bubble-point temperature. The second stream, usually a two-phase composition, is introduced into the column at a lower location than the first single-phase liquid feed. The second feed stream desirably becomes a two-phase mixture by being when heated above its bubble-point temperature. Conventional generators used in the aforesaid aqua-ammonia absorption systems have been designed with plates and attached heat-transfer tubing to transfer heat to the distillation column at the various locations along the column length. Such generator columns are described and illustrated in the aforesaid patents.
The present invention is directed to an improved aqua-ammonia absorption generator having at least a portion of the interior generator space filled with structured packing material.

Aqua-ammonia absorption system generator utilizing structured packing


An injection treatment on a subterranean zone is simulated by modeling physically separate rock blocks of the subterranean zone by separate block models. The block model for each physically separate rock block represents intra-block mechanics of the rock block by finite element method. Condensation is performed in the finite element method to reduce nodal degrees of freedom operation on by the finite element method. Interactions between adjacent pairs of the rock blocks are modeled by separate joint models. The joint model for each adjacent pair of rock blocks represents inter-block mechanics between the adjacent rock blocks. The injection treatment of the subterranean zone is simulated with the block models and the joint models.

This specification relates to simulating subterranean rock blocks in an injection treatment simulation. During a fracture treatment, fluids are pumped under high pressure into a rock formation through a well bore to fracture the formation and increase permeability and production from the formation. Applied mathematical models can be used to numerically simulate certain aspects of a fracture treatment. For example, finite element analysis (FEM) can be used to simulate rock deformation, rock stress, and fracture propagation.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

Injection treatment simulation using condensation


A fine electrode and wiring pattern with a good adhesive property is easily formed using a water-based solution easy to handle and small in environmental load, thereby improving a stability of a manufacturing process of an image-forming apparatus in the case where the water-based solution is used in the manufacturing process. A base pattern is formed using a base pattern forming material for electrode and wiring material absorption which is a water-based solution containing a water-soluble photosensitive resin component and a water-soluble metallic compound including rhodium, bismuth, ruthenium, vanadium, chromium, tin, lead, or silicon. An organic metallic compound is absorbed in the base pattern and then baking is conducted to form electrodes and wirings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a base pattern forming material for electrode and wiring material absorption, which is used for forming electrodes and wirings, an electrode and wiring forming method using the base pattern forming material for electrode and wiring material absorption, and a method of manufacturing an image-forming apparatus using the electrode and wiring forming method.
2. Related Background Art
Up to now, with respect to a method of forming electrodes and wirings on a substrate, there have been known (1) a method of applying a paste containing a conductive material onto a substrate using a screen printing method and conducting drying and baking on the substrate to form electrodes and wirings (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-185818), (2) a method using transfer (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-236017), (3) a method of applying a solution containing metal onto the entire substrate, conducting drying and baking on the substrate to form a metallic film, covering a predetermined region with a mask such as a photoresist, and removing a region which is not covered with the mask by etching to form electrodes and wirings, (4) a method of adding a photosensitive material to a metal-containing paste, exposing a desired region thereof, and then conducting development to form electrodes and wirings (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-114504 and 8-176177), (5) a method of forming electrodes and wirings using a coating material containing a water-soluble photosensitive resin, a water-soluble organic metallic compound, and a water-based solvent through application, drying, exposure, development, and baking (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-297639), and the like.
However, it is difficult to apply the above-mentioned method (1) to a fine electrode and wiring pattern. The uniformity and the reproducibility of a film thickness are insufficient even in the case of the above-mentioned method (2). According to the above-mentioned method (3), in particular, in the case where an electrode and wiring pattern is made of noble metal such as platinum, it is necessary to use strong acid at etching. Therefore, because a resist is attacked or an insulating substrate is eroded, it is difficult to form a fine circuit. Because an organic solvent is used in the above-mentioned method (4), explosion-proof equipment is required in application, drying, and baking processes and the handling of agents in use requires caution. In addition to this, because a large amount of chlorine-based organic solvent is used even in development, there is a problem in that an environmental load is large.
On the other hand, with respect to the above-mentioned method (5), there is an advantage that a fine electrode and wiring pattern can be easily formed by a water-based solution using a water-based solvent, which is easy to handle and small in environmental load. However, because a water-soluble organic metallic compound on an unexposed region is disposed of in the development process, there is a problem in that a cost becomes higher.
Therefore, according to the present applicant, it has been provided already a method of absorbing a water-based solution of an organic metallic compound in a resin pattern made of a water-soluble photosensitive resin and then baking the resin pattern in which the water-based solution of the organic metallic compound is absorbed to form electrodes and wirings in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-031922.
Now, according to the above-mentioned method, a fine electrode and wiring pattern can be easily formed at low cost without applying a large environmental load. However, there is the case where an adhesive property with a substrate is insufficient. Accordingly, in the case where the above-mentioned method is used for forming electrodes and wirings in an image-forming apparatus, peeling of the electrode and wiring pattern is sometimes caused when ultrasonic cleaning is conducted in a manufacturing step. Thus, there is the case where a manufacturing process becomes unstable.

Base pattern forming material for electrode and wiring material absorption, electrode and wiring forming method, and method of manufacturing image forming apparatus


This invention relates to torque wrenches, and more particularly to torque wrenches that are bi-directional in operation. A torque wrench comprises a housing in which is mounted a rotatable ratchet mechanism, a first lever and a first drive for applying a driving force to the first lever to pivot the first lever reciprocatingly between a rest position and a fully displaced position. Further included is a second lever and second drive for applying a driving force to the second lever to pivot the second lever reciprocatingly between a rest position and a fully displaced position.

Torque wrenches, and in particular hydraulic torque wrenches, are well established for use in tightening bolted joints. Such wrenches usually include a hydraulically-operated ram reciprocation of the piston of which causes rotation of an associated crank lever. A ratchet mechanism incorporating means for co-operation with the nut or bolt to be tightened is, in turn, rotated by the lever through drive means reacting between the lever and the ratchet mechanism whereby the nut or bolt is itself rotated.
The application of such a torque wrench to the nut or bolt provides for rotation of the nut or bolt in one direction.
In order to rotate the nut or bolt in the opposite direction, the wrench must be removed from the nut or bolt, turned over, and re-applied to the nut or bolt.
There are situations, for example in the subsea and nuclear industries, where torque wrenches have to be operated remotely, and, in such circumstances, it is not feasible to remove, turn over and reapply the torque wrench to enable the nuts or bolts to be rotated in different directions.
Additionally, torque wrenches are finding uses in many industries as valve actuators where rotation of the valve spindle in both directions must be readily available.
It has therefore been proposed, for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,997, to provide torque wrenches incorporating bi-directional mechanisms whereby rotation in both directions can be achieved without removing the wrench from the component to be rotated.
Such bi-directional torque wrenches commonly incorporate a pair of drive shoes each reacting between the crank lever and the ratchet mechanism, one shoe associated with clockwise rotation of the ratchet mechanism and the other shoe associated with anticlockwise rotation of said mechanism.
More particularly, the two drive shoes are interconnected with one another, each shoe being movable between an operative drive position engaging with the ratchet mechanism and an inoperative position disengaged from said mechanism. The interconnection of the two shoes is such that, when one of the drive shoes is in its operative drive position, the other drive shoe is completely disengaged from the ratchet mechanism.
A switching mechanism, which may be manually operated or powered, is provided to alter the relative positions of the drive shoes to achieve either clockwise or anticlockwise rotation. Failure to disengage one of the drive shoes when engaging the other shoe will result in the wrench locking up and preventing rotation of the ratchet mechanism in either direction--the drive shoes will work against one another when both engage the ratchet mechanism.
In the aforementioned subsea and nuclear industries, it is clearly not possible to switch the torque wrench manually, and a remote control arrangement is therefore required.
However, remote switching mechanisms are both expensive and complex to install. For example the wrench may incorporate a hydraulically-operated ram to effect the switching which must be provided with a receiver and a power supply actuated by a remote signal.
Such additional equipment clearly increases the risk of a failure occurring, while the remote nature of the switching operation leads to questions as to whether or not switching has in fact occurred. A sensor could be provided to detect the appropriate movement, but this adds still further to the cost.


A semiconductor package includes a first semiconductor chip, a second semiconductor chip and a ribbon. The ribbon includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer. The first metal layer is welded to the first chip and the second metal layer is attached to the second chip.

Semiconductor chips include bond pads that are electrically connected to external circuitry in order to function as part of an electronic system. The external circuitry is typically a lead array such as lead frame or a support substrate such as a printed circuit board. Electrical connection between the chip and the external circuitry is often achieved by wire bonding, tape automated bonding (TAB) or flip-chip bonding. For instance, with flip-chip bonding, ball grid array (BGA) packages contain an array of solder balls to mount on corresponding terminals on a printed circuit board, and land grid array (LGA) packages contain an array of metal pads that receive corresponding solder traces mounted on corresponding terminals on a printed circuit board.
Semiconductor packages may include multiple chips that are stacked to provide a compact high-density structure. The upper chip is often flip-chip bonded to the lower chip or interconnect metallization using solder balls. Semiconductor packages may also include a flexible conductive ribbon with an aluminum layer that is welded to the chip and the lead using wedge bonding. The aluminum layer provides high current capability, low spreading resistance and reliable bonds. However, the aluminum layer does not provide a suitable interconnection for a stacked upper chip since the wedge bond has rough, uneven top surface with sharp peaks and valleys that does not accommodate solder reflow. As a result, the upper chip would be attached to the ribbon using a solder ball that makes a poor reliability bond with the aluminum layer.
Therefore, there is a need for a semiconductor package that includes multiple chips attached to a ribbon in a reliable and cost-effective manner.

Semiconductor package with ribbon with metal layers


The present invention relates to a method for informing changed link properties in a system in which a mobile node is communicating by IP (Internet Protocol) with a correspondent node and utilizing a first link layer configuration. A need to change link layer communication to use a second link layer configuration is detected. Property information indicating a link layer property applied or to be applied in communication utilizing the second link layer configuration is defined. The property information is transmitted to the correspondent node. At least one setting for communication between the correspondent node and the mobile node is adapted in the correspondent node on the basis of the received property information.

Data services developed for public mobile networks with extensive coverage areas and supporting the mobility of the user have evolved significantly in recent years. The packet switched General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) provides the GSM networks with efficient data transmission, where radio capacity is allocated only during packet transmission. The third generation mobile communications system standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), also referred to as the 3GPP system or the UMTS system (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) offers more enhanced data transmission services than the GSM/GPRS networks.
In addition to the data services offered by the PLMN networks, various wireless local networks have been developed that offer a broadband wireless data transmission service for a limited coverage area. The IEEE 802.11-based WLAN networks represent examples of such techniques. Such local networks can be used in different hot spots, such as offices or airports, to offer extremely fast data transmission and access to the Internet. Wireless local area networks and PLMN networks have also been converged. For instance, network elements have also been designed for wireless local area networks that allow the local network to utilize the PLMN network. Network elements have been created for the WLAN networks according to the IEEE 802.11 standard and GSM networks that allow access to the authentication and billing services offered by the GSM network through the WLAN network. The co-operation between PLMN networks and wireless local area networks has been planned further so that the services offered by the PLMN network could also be used through a radio interface offered by the wireless local area networks. In the 3GPP system the wireless local area network might operate as an access sub-system.
In Mobile IP environment it is possible that a mobile node (MN) has two or more different links for data transfer. As mobile devices may move between access networks having very different capabilities, ongoing data transfer may suffer from such transition, especially when the mobile device is moving from a network offering a connection with large data transmission capacity, for instance a WLAN, to a network providing substantially lower data transmission capacity, such as a GPRS network. For instance, a WWW browser of a mobile device has a TCP session with a WWW server and downloads files via this TCP session. If the connection is arranged via WLAN, and suddenly the mobile device moves out of the WLAN coverage, the mobile device must start to use GPRS to continue the TCP session. Because the data transfer rate offered by the GPRS network is slower than that of the WLAN, many packets may be lost and thus many TCP retransmissions need to be executed before TCP congestion control handles this problem.
US 2002/0141353 aims to improve data throughput in the case of a transmission channel switch, where a newly assigned channel has a smaller transmission rate. If a forthcoming channel switch is detected, transmission parameters of the old channel are adapted on the basis of the new channel. For instance, the data transmission rate of the old channel is reduced before the channel switch, whereby it is possible to at least reduce the problems caused by the change to a slower channel. An example of a UMTS channel switch is described, wherein an RRM unit signalizes the channel switch to a MAC unit in order to change the channel parameters.

Method for informing changed communications capabilities