A method provides an optimized set of waveforms for driving a printhead in greyscale printing wherein the waveforms include a pulse train of N pulses, wherein N is an integer, each pulse having a length LN, a time P(N-1)(N) existing between two adjacent pulses. The method includes: optimising a cost function that compares at least one ink ejection parameter such as drop velocity, difference in drop velocity, driving voltage, split velocity, number of split drops or drop placement error, with a printing speed parameter such as printing speed, the length LN of each pulse or the time P(N-1)(N) between two adjacent pulses.

Greyscale inkjet technology operates in a similar way to binary inkjet printing but has the ability to fire a range of drop sizes. The greyscale effect is achieved by firing multiple droplets from the same nozzle of a printhead in rapid succession, rather than a single droplet as occurs at binary applications. The salvo of droplets merges in flight to form inked areas, on the printing substrate, of variable size and therefore of variable greyscale and can enable the production of an enhanced image quality at equal spatial resolution.
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 an example of a greyscale printhead is illustrated which includes three main parts, i.e. a cover component 1 and a channel component 2, both made from lead zirconium titanate (PZT), and a nozzle plate (not shown in the figures) made from a polyimide film. PZT is a piezoelectric material, which is a material that deforms when an electric field is applied to it. By sawing parallel grooves into the PZT channel component 2, the ink channels 3 and the shared walls 4 between the ink channels 3 are being defined. Furthermore, electrodes 5, to which a voltage can be applied to eject a drop of ink out of a nozzle, are positioned at the upper parts of the shared walls 4. Finally, a cover component 1 is attached to the tops of the shared walls 4 by a thin rigid layer of glue.
Typically, in one form of printer, the printhead will be moved relative to the printing substrate to produce a so-called raster line which extends in a first direction, e.g. across a page. The first direction is sometimes called the "fast scan" direction. A raster line includes a series of sequential dots delivered onto the printing medium by the marking elements of the printhead. The printing medium is moved, usually intermittently, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The second direction is often called the slow scan direction.
In FIG. 3 a general waveform that may be used to drive a channel for printing a single droplet, is illustrated. The waveform in FIG. 3 consists of 4 parts A, B, C and D. The voltage at the ordinate shows the voltage across the shared walls 4 of the printing channel, i.e. the voltage between the electrodes 5 of the printing channel and the electrodes 5 of the neighbouring channels. From the change from A to B on, the voltage at for example channel Cb is kept positive. Simultaneously, the voltage at its neighbouring channels Ca and Cc is kept low. The voltage difference between the channel Cb and its neighbouring channels Ca and Cc creates an outward bending of the shared walls 4 of channel Cb, as is shown in FIG. 1. Hence, a low pressure or vacuum occurs and ink flows into channel Cb. This phase is called the pull phase. By changing from part B to part C in the waveform as shown in FIG. 3, the shared walls 4 return in their original position, the pressure increases and a droplet is created. During the D-phase, which is also called push phase, the voltage at channel Cb is low and the voltage at its neighbouring channels Ca and Cc is positive. The shared walls 4 bend inward as is shown in FIG. 2. The deflection of the shared walls 4 of channel Cb pressurises the ink in the ink channel, ejecting the ink droplet from nozzle of channel Cb.
To create the waveform of FIG. 3 and drive a channel to eject a single droplet, a combination of the following three signals may be applied to the electrodes of the printing channel and its neighbouring channels, for example:
On (on-signal):01111111110000000000000000000000Off (off-signal):00000000000011111111111111111000Ina (inactive-signal):00000000000011111111111111111000So, for driving a single channel of the above described grayscale printhead three signals are required, i.e. an on-signal (on), an off-signal (off) and an inactive-signal (ina) (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2). In commercially available drive circuitry for these grayscale printheads each drive signal is 480 bits long. One single little drop or droplet is determined by 32 bits. Thus, a maximum of 480/32=15 droplets can be created within one drive signal for merging together to form one big drop. If, for example, printing needs to be done with channel Cb, an on-signal is sent to channel Cb and an inactive-signal is sent on the two neighbouring channels Ca and Cc. To fire n droplets, the on-signal is sent n times to channel Cb during the first 32*n bits. During the following 32*(15-n) bits, the off-signal is sent to that channel Cb. In the same time the inactive-signal is sent to the two neighbouring channels Ca and Cc. Each of the bits takes a time of one sample-clock period. The sample clock may be chosen dependent on the drive signal required.
Present-day printers need to be fast and accurate. Very important therefore is to have control over dot size and velocity. The dot size is related to the volume of the ink drop jetted and is determined by the number of ink droplets merged within the ink drop. Furthermore, it is also important that the ink drop is exactly positioned on the printing medium, which may for example be a paper or plastic sheet, in order to reduce drop misplacement printing artefacts of which most of them get worse as printing speed increases.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,659, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for background information only, a method for operating a drop-on demand ink jet printing system in resonant mode is described for providing high resolution printing upon a recording medium. According to this document, the volume of ink droplets ejected is controllable by synchronously exciting either one or a combination of the fluidic and mechanical resonant frequencies of the ink jet apparatus. Hereby a dominant resonant frequency disturbance is produced within the associated ink chamber permitting either one of one cycle or one sub-harmonic cycle of the dominant resonant frequency to be produced. The resonant oscillations generate multiple pulses. The method described in this document is a multi-pulse method using the dominant resonant frequency of the ink jet device to produce droplets of ink of controllable volume through pulsation of a transducer at a repetition rate of the dominant resonant frequency, using either a single or a plurality of pulses at the dominant resonant frequency, dependent on the dot size required.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,659 provides a method of operating an ink jet device using one or a multiple number of drive pulses for operating the device over a given dot production time for producing ink droplets, each of a known volume of ink. For this, the shape and periodicity of the drive pulses utilised are carefully controlled, whereby the periodicity of the drive pulses utilised is made substantially equivalent to the dominant resonant frequency of the ink jet device.
Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,659 droplets are fired at a rate according to the resonant frequency. A disadvantage of the method is that, for creating different droplets, always the same waveform is to be used. Further, the resonant frequency can be sensitive to small changes in the mechanical properties of the printhead, imposing high consistency requirements on printhead manufacturing. Furthermore, to keep a system in resonance, less energy is needed than to get the system in resonance. By using the same waveforms to generate first and subsequent droplets, there will be an excess of energy present in the ink chamber, possibly leading to inconsistent or uncontrollable jetting.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,513, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for background information only, a method is described for variable greyscale printing while eliminating image artefacts caused by quantisation errors, visible noise and excessive ink lay-down while also reducing printing time and improving accuracy of ink drop placement. The method in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,513 uses timing control of electronic waveforms for variable greyscale printing (see FIG. 4). The electronic waveform may include a plurality of "square" pulses and may be characterised by a set of predetermined parameters. The parameter values for the pulse amplitudes A1, A2, etc., pulse widths W1, W2, etc., and pulse delay time intervals S1-2, S2-3, etc. between pulses are selected according to a desired mode of operating the printhead.
In the desired mode, frequencies of pulses are reinforced by the resonance frequencies of the ink chamber. Hence, the amount of energy input to the channel to cause an ink drop ejection therefrom is minimised. It is important to control the timing of the waveforms in order to eliminate variability in ink drop placement caused by differences in pulse widths or delays, and to control voltage amplitudes of the waveform in order to eliminate variability in ejection velocity of drops. To correct for this, the waveform starts with a starting delay time Ti. In this known method the printhead may for example be designed such that ink drops having different volumes are ejected at essentially the same velocity. Timing control may be done depending on the operator-selected printing mode, printing speed, receiver type and/or output image resolution.
Although the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,513 deals with a number of the problems linked with the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,659, a disadvantage of the method is that three parameters per pulse have to be determined to create a waveform, i.e. pulse width, pulse delay and pulse amplitude. Furthermore, the method uses the resonance frequency of the ink chamber. Hence, the printing rate using this method is restricted to this resonance frequency.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,215, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for background information only, a method for operating an ink jet apparatus for providing selective control within a range of the volumes of the ink drops ejected by the apparatus and/or the amount of ink striking a desired point on a recording medium, is disclosed. It is alleged that broader control of the boldness and toning of printing could be obtained by operating a transducer of an ink jet printhead in an iterative manner. This causes a plurality of successively higher, lower or equal velocity ink droplets or some combination thereof to be ejected from the nozzle of the ink jet printhead, within a time period permitting the droplets to either merge in flight prior to striking a recording medium or upon striking the recording medium at the same point.
The volume of ink striking a recording medium at a given point is thereby partly determined by the number of ink droplets merged prior to striking or at the point of striking. In the document, the velocity of the droplets is determined by changing the amplitude or changing the fall time of the trailing edge of the control pulses. If either the amplitude of the control pulse is increased, or the fall time of the trailing edge is decreased, or a combination of both, the droplets ejected from the printhead will have an increased velocity.
Using the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,215 the shapes of the waveforms used to drive the ink jet apparatus can be designed to cause successively produced ink droplets to have successively higher or lower relative velocities, or some combination thereof, so long as system timing permits the droplets to strike the recording medium at substantially the same point. A disadvantage of the method described in this document is that again, 3 parameters need to be taken into account, i.e. amplitude of each pulse, the length of each pulse and the time between every two pulses. Furthermore, the time to eject for example two droplets that merge into one drop takes about 100 μs. Therefore, it is not possible to print at very high rates, using the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,215.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,299, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for background information only, describes a method for generating ink drops on demand having selectively variable size. In this method, one subvolume of ink is produced for each voltage pulse applied to the printhead (see FIG. 5). In order to produce bigger volumes of ink, a successive number N of voltage pulses is applied to the printhead within one drop production times T. The delay time between the N voltage pulses generating the individual droplets is fixed and short with respect to T and all pulses have the same shape (see FIG. 5). The N droplets merge at the position of the nozzle plate and form a drop of which the volume equals N times the volume of one droplet. In this document it is assumed that the velocity of an ink drop, including different droplets, is determined by the velocity of the first of the droplets ejected from the printhead. According to this assumption, drops including different numbers of ink droplets thus all will have the same velocity, i.e. the velocity of the first droplet that has been ejected from the print head. However, practice shows that the bigger an ink drop is, the lower the velocity of the ink drop will be because, according to Stokes law, the friction force with the air will be higher for larger drops. Therefore, in practice, drops including a different number of droplets or subvolumes of ink appear to have a different velocity. Hence, the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,299 does not allow printing of ink drops, including a different number of droplets or subvolumes of ink, with all drops having the same velocity.

Method and apparatus to create a waveform for driving a printhead


The sensor system monitors solutes in a liquid stream by analyzing the amount of light absorbed in a liquid in a particular wavelength band. The sensor system is arranged for selectability of the type of fiber used for transmission and adjustability of the liquid gap length in the liquid so that individual installations can be arranged with optimum characteristics for sensing particular chemical species in solution by absorption spectroscopy.

The apparatus and method described in Pesavento and Strawbridge U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,685 teach the manner in which absorption spectroscopy can be successfully used in the testing of chemical solutions, and particularly in electroplating solutions. Koenigsberg and O'Neal describe, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,942, a useful structure for creating the light gap for positioning in the liquid solution. In this case, reliability is stressed by protection of the components against the adverse electroplating environment.
Different solutes may have spectroscopic peaks at different wavelengths. It is this characteristic which permits identification of a particular solute. However, these wavelengths may be best served by different light sources, and these different light sources may be best transmitted through different types of optical fibers. Furthermore, the peaks may be best detected at different detector gaps. As a result, for a sensor system to have a fairly wide utility, it is necessary to be able to adjust the light gap, as a function of concentration and transparency of the liquid stream, change light sources and/or filters to provide light in the proper wavelength band for which the solute is being, and to be able to change the optical fiber to one which is most suitable for the particular wavelength band. The sensitivity of the system is determined by its optical path length across the gap through which the stream passes. An increase in path length yields greater sensitivity: greater differentiation of lower concentrations. However, with a greater path length and corresponding increased light absorption, the amount of light reaching the detector may drop below the limit for accurate measurement. A variable path length allows the system to be adjusted for maximum sensitivity within the operating range of the detector. Thus, there is a need for providing a sensor and system with an adjustable, selectable path length. Fiber optic cables come in different types, each with its spectral window of maximum transmittance, depending on the material used in the optical fiber. If a sensor is to be used at different wavelengths, it is also necessary to change the fiber. Thus, changing the fiber optic cable to a different material is also necessary to provide wide utilization of the sensor. A sensor with interchangeable cables is not limited to any one cable and its corresponding spectral range, but such a sensor can use any fiber optic cable.

Sensor for monitoring solute in a liquid stream


A method of nitriding a refractory-nitride forming metal or metalloid articles and composite articles. A consolidated metal or metalloid article or composite is placed inside a microwave oven and nitrogen containing gas is introduced into the microwave oven. The metal or metalloid article or composite is heated to a temperature sufficient to react the metal or metalloid with the nitrogen by applying a microwave energy within the microwave oven. The metal or metalloid article or composite is maintained at that temperature for a period of time sufficient to convert the article of metal or metalloid or composite to an article or composite of refractory nitride. In addition, a method of applying a coating, such as a coating of an oxide, a carbide, or a carbo-nitride, to an article of metal or metalloid by microwave heating.

The nitrides of many metals and metalloids have high melting points and are resistant to oxidation. Currently, powders of these nitrides are consolidated into a body, then the body is hot-pressed or hot-isostatic-pressed at high temperatures and pressures into a dense body. Operations of this type require expensive equipment and usually long periods of time. Also, bodies are frequently in a highly-stressed state after this type of heating and pressing operation.
The object of the subject invention is to provide a method for nitriding refractory metal and metalloid articles to form dense, crack-free bodies of metal or metalloid nitrides, composites of these nitrides, coatings of these nitrides, and nitrides of metal and metalloid articles having a density less then theoretical density.

Method of nitriding refractory metal articles


An internal support for an air filter includes a helical member which is shaped and dimensioned to fit against the inside surface of the air filter to provide structural support which prevents the air filter from inwardly collapsing. In another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of support rings are installed in spaced apart parallel relationship inside the air filter.

Air filters for heavy-duty transportation applications and also various internal combustion engines are designed to protect engines by forcing intake air to pass though a filtration process prior to entering the engine chamber. This is accomplished by forcing or sucking air through a pleated media air filter with a specific pass through efficiency prior to entering the engine chamber. This process allows for air intake into the engine chamber while preventing particulates from entering the engine. Air filtration efficiency is measured in terms of air flow, dust holding capacity, restriction, and final efficiency which is typically measured by amount of duct fed verses amount of duct blocked by the filter.
Existing air filtration products for transportation applications come in various shapes, sizes, number of pleats and specific efficiencies. The most prevalent air filter shapes for transportation applications are frustoconical and cylindrical. Cylindrical and frustoconical filters consist of pleated layers of filter media (usually cotton), wire mesh, and an inner support layer made up expanded metal bound together in polymer composite on either ends or with metal end caps. The inner support layer is required to prevent inward collapse of the filter unit during both storage and use. Currently in the vast majority of cylindrical and frustoconical air filters the inner support layer is made up of expanded metal, which greatly increases air resistance. The existing expanded metal inner support solution presents greater surface area for air to have to pass though. This prevents maximum air intake, which is a factor in greater engine performance, while proving no considerable advantage for filter efficiency.


A thermal protection system for use with a lighting fixture includes a temperature-sensitive switch responsive to the ambient temperature which may have a rating less than that of the lamp. The temperature-sensitive switch controls the operation of a suitably higher rated control device connected to the lamp to turn the lamp off when the ambient temperature above the thermal switch exceeds a predetermined level.

The present invention relates generally to thermal protectors, and more particularly to a thermal protector for use with a wattage lamp mounted in a recessed lighting fixture.
Recessed lighting fixtures are commonly installed in residential and commercial environments, particularly in installations in which the architect or designer wishes the light source to be relatively unnoticeable. Conventional ceiling recessed lighting installations are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,222,800; 5,457,617; 5,452,816; 5,347,812; and 4,646,212. In a recessed lighting installation, the light source is contained in a housing which is mounted in a space in the ceiling. The lamp housing is, in turn, mounted to a frame which is secured to the structural supports of the ceiling, such as to the wood joists that support the ceiling.
Depending upon the applicable building codes that deal with electrical and thermal considerations, as well as the goals of the lighting designer, the ceiling space or environment in which the lighting fixture is installed may be either insulated or non-insulated. Fixtures installed in the ceiling space must, as a result, be rated for use in insulated or non-insulated ceilings as appropriate. A ceiling environment that is insulated will tend to retain heat generated by the light source in the lighting fixture more than one that is not insulated.
A ceiling which is not initially insulated during building construction may be retrofitted with thermal insulation at a later date. Recessed lighting fixtures that were originally installed may become overheated after insulation is added because the fixtures may not be rated for use in insulated ceilings.
The use of an improper type or wattage of the light source (bulb) in a recessed lighting fixture or in an incorrectly rated fixture can create hazards, such as the creation of a temperature in the surrounding region that is higher than the fixture (and possibly the surrounding insulation) is able to accommodate. Improper bulb conditions or the use of inappropriately rated recessed lighting fixtures can thus create a potentially dangerous condition with respect to thermal conditions that could constitute a fire hazard.
In recognition of this potential for overheating and its concomitant potential hazards, the National Electrical Code and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. product standards require that recessed lighting fixtures be provided with thermal protectors in order to reduce the risks associated with the improper installation or use of the light source or fixture. When the temperature sensed by the thermal protector exceeds a predetermined maximum level, indicating an overheating condition and a possible fire hazard, a switch, typically a bimetallic switch associated with the thermal protector, opens to disconnect the lamp from the power line, and the lamp is turned off. When the temperature in the space around the thermal protector then falls below the preset dangerous level, the switch closes and the lamp is reconnected to the power line and turns on.
This opening and closing of the thermal protection switch causes the lamp to flash on and off, thereby to indicate the existence of a potentially dangerous overheating problem in the lighting fixture, while preventing the temperature in the fixture from being maintained at a potentially dangerous level. Although thermal protection of this type is commonly used in a recessed lighting fixture, similar thermal protection may also be employed in other types of lighting installations, in which overheating could cause a direct fire hazard.
Commercially available thermal protectors, which are intended for use in a recessed lighting fixture, are rated for limited electrical loads, typically 600 watts, that corresponds to the high-end rating of the most commonly used single lamp socket. Such a limitation in the capacity of the thermal protector may, however, present a problem in lighting fixtures and lighting systems that draw higher electrical loads, such as up to 1000 watts or more that exceed the rating of the thermal protector. Switching a 1000-watt load with a bimetallic switch rated at 600 watts could cause the switch to fail. The failure may result in the switch welding to a closed or "on" position, which would cause the lamp to remain energized or "on". Accordingly, high-wattage lighting fixtures, i.e. those operating at loads greater than 600 watts, cannot be readily provided with code-required thermal protection. Increasing the capacity of the thermal protector is not a practical option since that would substantially increase its cost and size.
There is thus a current need for a thermal protector that can be safely and reliably used in lighting fixtures in which the load exceeds the thermal protector's electrical power rating.

Control system for thermal protection of high wattage lighting


A chemical injection system includes a TRSV; a communication nipple in operable communication with the TRSV and positioned relative to the TRSV to be downhole of a flapper closure mechanism thereof when installed in a wellbore; a chemical injection line in fluid communication with the communication nipple; and a capillary sleeve receivable at the communication nipple and configured to sealingly convey fluid from the communication nipple to a remote location without affecting operation of the TRSV and method.

In the hydrocarbon recovery industry, it is often desirable to chemically treat specific portions of well systems to, for example, enhance production, reduce corrosion of production components, reduce or avoid the buildup of problematic substances such as scale, paraffin, hydrates, etc. In some well systems, the application of chemicals to a target area can be a relatively straightforward process with little obstructive conditions or componentry to cause concern or consternation. In other well systems, however, chemical injection, as it is vernacularly termed, is less selectively achieved. In one example, well systems that are legally required to employ Surface Controlled Subsurface Safety Valves (SCSSV) present a difficult obstacle to chemical injection. The operator is faced with either having a fixed location for chemical injection, installed at the time that the TRSV is installed or a system that impacts functionality of the TRSV. Since running a tool through the SCSSV would create a safety issue by holding its closure mechanism open, considerable modification and complexity will be required to maintain a failsafe operation and protection of the well, in order to maintain compliance with applicable law. Since increased cost and complexity are always parameters of well operation to be avoided, the art is always receptive to alternative methods and apparatus that eschew such parameters.

System and method for injecting a chemical downhole of a tubing retrievable capillary bypass safety valve


It is not possible to display image data exchanged between portable terminals with different output capabilities. The data processing control apparatus processes processing object data based on the output capability of an output device capable of outputting the processing object data such as image data, and outputs to the output device the processed data that is the processed processing object data. Therefore, the processing object data was converted to the data adapted for the output capability of the output device so that the output device can output any processing object data.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a data processing control apparatus, a data processing control method and a system, which process and control data to be transferred to a plurality of terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, according to the progress of both the digital technology and the network technology, the portable terminal gets to be used in various places near at hand. The portable terminal is a mobile phone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), and so on. In particular, the mobile phone, which is a typical portable terminal, has become popular explosively on the occasion when the mobile phone is provided with the function of Internet-access service for transmitting and receiving the electronic mail and for receiving information providing services provided by WWW (World Wide Web). And W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), which is the mobile communication system for the next generation, makes it possible to transmit data at a high speed, and in result it is possible to perform the real time communication by means of the dynamic image or the voice.
The above-mentioned mobile phone provided with the Internet-access service can be connected with Internet, through which the user of the mobile phone can download image data and etc. In addition, the user uses the downloaded image data as wallpaper or as file attached to mail.
Moreover, as the digital technology and the network technology improve, the data storage service (photo album service), and etc. are also developed; the data storage service can allow the portable terminal, such as the mobile phone, to browse the data stored in the server. According to such service, it is possible for the portable terminal to browse the image data stored in the server.
However, the portable terminal is limited in its memory size or the monitor size in order to downsize or for weight saving, therefore the resolution (the number of pixels) of the monitor is very low compared to that of TV or personal computer. Accordingly, even when the server for the data storage service stores image data with 480 (width)×640 (length) pixels, the monitor of the portable terminal of 120 (width)×160 (length) dots can only do display 1/16 of the whole image. For this reason, the user must scroll the image to see the other parts of image not displayed on the monitor. In such way, there are occasions when the monitor with the low resolution cannot display the whole of image simultaneously. In this case, it is hard for the user to know the whole of image data. Additionally, there are occasions when the portable terminal is arranged so as not to receive the image data having the number of pixels more than the number of dots on the monitor. Such portable terminal cannot display on the monitor the image data having the many number of pixels.
Furthermore, even though the server stores the image data generated in the file format (JPEG, GIF, MPEG, etc. for example) to which the portable terminal such as the mobile phone, PDA and etc and the terminal device of the personal computer are not corresponding, those terminal devices cannot display the image data.
And the display capability of the monitor of the terminal device is varied depending on the type of device, for this reason there are occasions when the monitor cannot display the image data transmitted from the other terminal device with the different display capability.

Data processing control apparatus, data processing control method and system thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A polygon mirror structure comprising a mirror body including spherical ceramic particles, a reinforcement member for reinforcing the strength of the ceramic particles, and a polymer, and further comprising a plurality of mirror surfaces formed on a lateral surface of the mirror body, wherein as the mirror body rotates, incident light is deflected and scanned along the mirror body surfaces. The polygon mirror can be manufactured on a large scale simply by plastic molding without having to use high-precision processing. Also, since the polygon mirror includes spherical ceramic particles, it is possible to prevent deformation due to shrinkage of polymer materials after plastic molding. Further, the use of a high-strength reinforcement member increases a tensile strength, thereby enabling the polygon mirror to be efficiently used in high-speed rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polygon mirror and an optical scanning apparatus employing the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a polygon mirror that is capable of withstanding a tensile load generated due to a rotational force during high speed rotation, and an optical scanning apparatus employing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical scanning apparatus, which is commonly employed with an image recording apparatus that prints an image on a sheet of printing paper, such as a copier, printer, facsimile or the like, forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning light beams emitted from a light source, such as a laser diode, onto a photosensitive medium of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a general polygon mirror for use in an optical scanning apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, a polygon mirror 10 includes a mirror body 11 having a plurality of square mirror surfaces 12, and is used as an optical deflector that deflects a light beam to the optical scanning apparatus. The polygon mirror 10 rotates at a constant speed by means of a driver, such as a motor (not shown), during an image forming operation.
The optical scanning apparatus scans the light beam on a scan surface in a scanning direction by rotating the polygon mirror 10, thereby recording an image on a photosensitive drum (not shown).
The polygon mirror 10 is a processed product having sub-micron level precision and reflectivity. Accordingly, control of a manufacturing process of the polygon mirror 10 is quite difficult to achieve and the use of high-purity aluminum makes the process require an extended processing time, resulting in a high manufacturing cost and capital investment for facilities, and difficulties in supplying quantities to meet demands. To overcome such problems, research into methods of manufacturing a polygon mirror by molding the polygon mirror by plastic molding, pressing, or die casting, and performing mirror surface coating on the polygon mirror, has been continuously conducted.
In the case of plastic molding, a deformation due to shrinkage exhibited after the plastic molding makes surface precision of the polygon mirror unsatisfactory. Another approach has been proposed to maintain the configuration of a polygon mirror even with the shrinkage of plastic materials such that a plastic material is mixed with spherical ceramic particles and then molded, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 01-113718, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
However, the use of spherical ceramic particles makes it impossible to withstand a tensile load due to a rotational force exerted during high-speed rotation of approximately 40,000 rpm or higher, even though the dimensional and configuration accuracy requirements can be satisfied. In this case, the polymer material, which mostly serves as a binder, must withstand the tensile load. However, the tensile strength of the polymer material is too low to withstand the tensile load due to a rotational force, thus limiting the application of the polygon mirror on the basis of rotation speed, that is, limiting the application of the polygon mirror to rotation speeds of not greater than 20,000 rpm.
Accordingly, a need exists for a polygon mirror having a durability that is high enough to withstand a tensile load due to a rotational force exerted during high-speed rotation.

Polygon mirror and optical scanning apparatus employing the same


An electrical/mechanical switching having a first terminal and a second terminal. The first terminal is a neutral terminal and has a first terminal power engagement tab and a first terminal engagement tab with a first terminal copper dimple. The second terminal is a neutral terminal and has a second terminal mating engagement tab and a second terminal engagement tab with a second terminal copper dimple. A cam member is provided proximate the first terminal engagement tab and is movable between a first position and a second position to move the first terminal engagement tab into electrical and mechanical engagement with the second terminal engagement tab. An opening projection is provided proximate the first terminal engagement tab and the second terminal engagement tab and is movable between a first position and a second position to separate the first terminal engagement tab and the second terminal engagement tab.

In order to safely control the delivery of high current, electrical switching devices must be provided with separate mechanical switches. However, the inclusion of the additional mechanical switches increases the cost and complexity of the switching device.
It would be, therefore, beneficial to provide an electrical connector which does not require a separate mechanical switch or an internal spring, but which includes an integral electrical/mechanical switching module, thereby simplifying the connector and reducing the cost of the connector. It would also be beneficial to provide such an electrical/mechanical switching module in which the flow of the electrical current is only permitted when the connector is fully mated, thereby increasing the safety of the module and the connector.


A high-side driver circuit for driving a load, including a low-side driver IC having a drive output and a feedback input, a first transistor coupled to the drive output, and a second transistor coupled between a power source and the load. The second transistor is configured to enter an “OFF” state when the first transistor is driven into an “OFF” state by the drive output, and to enter an “ON” state when the first transistor is driven into an “ON” state by the drive output.

Engine control modules (ECMs) for powertrain applications generally include controllers, such as the MY 2008 MT40 series controllers provided by Delphi Automotive Systems. These controllers have applications on various vehicles made by several different manufacturers. For example, CAM phasor outputs are generally driven by such controllers to improve idle smoothness and obtain improved power curves at high speeds. Some of these applications require driver circuits that function as low-side drivers, while other applications require high-side drivers.
As low-side drivers are generally less expensive than high-side drivers, most vehicle manufacturers require low-side drivers. Other manufacturers, however, specify high-side drivers because they believe the increased cost is justified by the desire to avoid undesirable effects of shorts to ground (which may be more likely and prevalent than shorts to battery) and to remove power from the load during a short to ground. Unfortunately, not only are conventional high-side drivers, such as the miniPROFET® BSP 452 by Infineon Technologies, generally more expensive, but they also occupy limited printed circuit board ("PCB") space, increase complexity and component count, and typically require additional microprocessor resources (normally quite limited in such applications) for drive and fault diagnostics. Moreover, as relatively few applications specify high-side drivers, the cost of implementing a high-side driver would become carrying cost for the remaining controllers. This is undesirable as such controllers are frequently used in cost-sensitive applications.
Additionally, conventional high-side drivers do not facilitate fault detection as efficiently as low-side drivers. Off-the-shelf high-side driver ICs current limit their outputs during a short circuit event, and remain powered a relatively long period of time (typically approximately 200 microseconds) or in some cases until the junction temperature exceeds a shut-off threshold. This thermal shut-off approach may require heat sinking or heat removal measures. These short circuit event operating conditions are stressful and may degrade the performance and/or operating life of the device.

Configurable high/low side driver using a low-side FET pre-driver


Aircraft mission equipment (e.g., an electrical equipment cabinet) comprising a base plate equipped on a bottom with a plurality of air casters that provide flotation mobility. When the equipment is being loaded in or unloaded from an aircraft, the actuated air casters provide a plurality of air cushions. The total lift force produced by the air cushions is sufficient to float the equipment above and out of contact with the floor, thereby improving ease of handling and reducing point loads on the floor structure. Portions of the air distribution system that provides pressurized air to the air casters on the bottom of the base plate are structurally integrated into the base plate of the mission equipment.

The subject matter of this disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for moving heavy objects using air cushions. In particular, this disclosure relates to systems for loading and unloading aircraft mission equipment using an air caster handling system.
Many components of an aircraft mission equipment inventory, such as electrical equipment cabinets (EECs), can be bulky and large. In the aircraft interior, there are space limitations that restrict the movement of personnel and equipment. This space limitation becomes more of an issue as each EEC gets installed in the aircraft. In many cases, the EEC is so large that, in order to remove or install it, other onboard equipment needs to be moved.
In the past, each EEC was rolled into an aircraft, positioned and then loaded with equipment. Because an EEC weighs approximately 200 pounds empty, the cabinet casters produced high point loads on the floor. Thus the loading process required additional support over the floor panels to prevent damage. In some cases an independent pallet was used underneath the EEC due to its weight. Use of an independent pallet requires substantial manipulation to move the EEC into place; often times this results in damage to the EEC, aircraft structure or electrical equipment, and/or injury to personnel manually loading the equipment.
In a known process. after an empty EEC has been loaded into the aircraft, the mission equipment is installed in the cabinet. Installing cabinet equipment includes retrieving it out of storage, locating the various subsystems in and securing them to the cabinet, attaching power and data cables, and functionally verifying that the equipment was installed correctly. If this installation is performed while the cabinet is in the aircraft, the latter must be out of service for the duration of the equipment installation process. Alternatively, the equipment can be installed while the cabinet is in a shop and before the aircraft has landed. After landing, the fully equipped and tested cabinet can be loaded into the aircraft, thereby reducing the aircraft's time on the ground.
Because different missions require different equipment onboard the aircraft, it would be beneficial to increase the mobility of the EECs and other equipment which need to be loaded or unloaded. Cabinet mobility decreases the complexity of rearranging the mission payloads in the aircraft and improves the ability to reconfigure aircraft mission equipment. This capability decreases the turn-around time to exchange the ECCs, which in turn increases the aircraft's flexibility. Most mission capability will be contained within removable EECs. If those EECs are easily movable on and off the aircraft, then an aircraft need carry only the equipment needed for a particular mission. After each mission, equipment not needed for the next mission can be removed and needed equipment can be loaded. The ability to easily remove unneeded mission equipment reduces aircraft weight, increases the available interior space and expands the overall capability of the aircraft.
It is known to use air casters (a.k.a. air bearings) to load and unload mission equipment. A cabinet can be fully outfitted with system hardware or equipment before being loaded onto the aircraft. The aircraft floor incurs only a minimal weight footprint due to the distributed load nature of the air casters, thereby reducing damage to the aircraft. Since the cabinet can be fully loaded or pre-staged before installation in the aircraft, the traditional long flow time needed to perform installation of mission system equipment can be eliminated, allowing the aircraft to rapidly return to service.
Current air caster systems for moving equipment on and off an aircraft are autonomous in nature and are removed after each handling operation. There is a need for improvements in air caster handling systems which enable an aircraft operator to easily remove, reconfigure and install mission equipment.

Aircraft mission equipment having an integrated air caster handling system


Provided is a hard film for a cutting tool formed on a surface of a base material, the hard film being comprised of a nano multi-layered structure comprising a thin layer A, a thin layer B, a thin layer C and a thin layer D or a structure in which the nano multi-layered structure is repeatedly stacked at least twice, wherein the thin layer A is comprised of Ti1-xAlxN (0.5≦x≦0.7); the thin layer B is comprised of Al1-y-zTiyCrzN (0.3≦y≦0.6 and 0<z≦0.3); the thin layer B is comprised of MeN (where Me is Nb or V); and the thin layer D is comprised of Al1-a-bTiaSibN (0.3≦a≦0.7 and 0<b<0.1).

As the industry gradually advances toward fineness, speedup and mass production, it is required to improve cutting performance and life cycle of a cutting tool. Especially, since high heat of 900° C. or more is locally generated on a front end of the cutting tool rubbing with a workpiece in a rapid cutting of a workpiece having a high hardness and a cutting of a difficult-to-cut material having a low thermal conductivity, life cycle of the cutting tool may be improved by forming a hard film having excellent oxidation resistance and abrasion resistance on a cutting surface of the cutting tool.
In order to improve the cutting performance and life cycle, a single-layered hard film including TiN, Al2O3, TiAlN, AlTiN, AlCrN or the like having abrasion resistance, oxidation resistance, impact resistance and the like, or a multi-layered hard film in which the single-layered hard films are stacked in two layers or more, is formed on a hard base material such as a hard metal, a cermet, a high speed steel, an end mill, a drill, or the like to cope with demands for the high hardness workpiece and the difficult-to-cut material.
Recently, the hardness of the workpiece is gradually increased, and a demand for processing of a difficult-to-cut material having a low thermal conductivity and severely fused on a tool is also increased. Especially, since stainless steel, heat-resistant alloy steel, ductile cast iron and the like have a low thermal conductance compared to general steels, cutting heat is not emitted due to chips in a cutting and heat is concentrated on a cutting edge portion of the cutting tool, abrasion, seizure and exfoliation phenomena are easily generated on the cutting edge of the cutting tool due to a chemical reaction between the cutting tool and the workpiece, and life cycle of the cutting tool is rapidly reduced.
Therefore, only with the single layered or multi-layered structures having a composition described above, it becomes more and more difficult to cope with a demand for a cutting tool for the cutting of such a difficult-to-be cut material and ductile cast iron, which are required to evenly have characteristics such as excellent abrasion resistance, oxidation resistance and lubrication.
Therefore, trials improving the cutting performance are recently increased through a method for regularly and repeatedly stacking at least two thin films having a nano level that are different in material property.
For example, Korea Patent No. 876366 discloses a thin film structure in which a lower layer is deposited on an insert, an end mill, a drill or a cermet which is a hard metal tool through a physical vapor deposition, in order to improve an adhesion force and align the orientation of crystal grains in the direction of (200) plane, a (Ti,Al)N multi-layered thin film which is a middle layer is continuously deposited in order to improve impact resistance and chipping resistance, and a top layer which is comprised of TiAlN or AlTiSiN, is constituted by layer A, layer B, layer C and layer D and has a structure in which layer A, layer B, layer C and layer D are alternately stacked, is formed to improve the abrasion resistance and oxidation resistance of the top layer.
While the abrasion resistance and oxidation resistance may be improved through the multi-layered structure as described above, development of a hard film having a novel structure is required in order to evenly improve various characteristics such as abrasion resistance, impact resistance (toughness) and chipping resistance required for the cutting.


A vehicle front structure including: a closed-section cross member connected to a pair of front pillars; a closed-section hood ledge extending frontward from a portion of a corresponding one of the front pillars, where the cross member is connected to the corresponding one of the front pillars; and a strut housing provided on an inner side in a vehicle transverse direction of and adjacent to the hood ledge. The hood ledge is provided with two gussets dividing an internal space thereof into sections in the longitudinal direction of the hood ledge, and an intermediate portion of the hood ledge between the two gussets is located forward of the cross member and rearward of the strut housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. Hei. 10(1998)-203413 discloses a vehicle front structure including: an air box connected between a pair of front pillars; a hood ledge having a closed section structure and extending frontward from a part of the front pillar at the level of the air box; and a strut housing provided on the inner side in the vehicle transverse direction of and adjacent to the hood ledge.


An object of this invention is to provide a dry etching method enabling a higher productivity and a higher yield without giving any bad effect to a substrate (such as, for instance, damages to a gate oxide film bed) even in a case where a side wall protection film is formed and then the side wall protection film must be removed later.. This invention is a dry etching method for processing a polycide layer, in which a poly Si layer and a refractory metal silicide layer are formed in this order on an oxide film bed, by etching resist patterns selectively formed on said polycide layer into a mask, wherein the undercut 6 is provided in the refractory metal silicide layer 2 or other layers contacting the resist pattern 1 and then the refractory metal silicide layer 2 and the poly Si layer 3 are isotropically etched.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dry etching method, and particularly to a dry etching method for processing a polycide layer, in which a poly Si layer and a high melting point silicide layer are formed in this order on an oxide film bed, by etching resist patterns selectively formed on said polycide layer into a mask. This invention can be used, for instance, for producing materials available in the field of electronics (to manufacture semiconductor devices or others). This invention can be embodied, for instance, as a dry etching technology using a side wall protection film in manufacturing high speed/high density semiconductor devices.
2. Prior Art
In recent years, various types of materials for electronics have become more minute and higher in density. As can be observed in the examples of VLSIs and ULSIs recently developed, in association with introduction of more minute design rules for semiconductor devices or others, it has becomes more and more important to etch a material layer under higher selectivity toward the bed.
For instance, when fabricating a gate electrode for MOS-FET, it is necessary to etch a silicon-based material layer such as a polycrystal silicon layer or a polycide film under the conditions where a high selectivity ratio to a thin gate insulating film made of silicon oxide (SiO.sub.2) can be achieved.
Also, when forming a contact in such a section as an impurities diffusing area formed in a semiconductor substrate, or a source drain area of a PMOS transistor, it is necessary to etch an insulating film between SiO.sub.2 layers under the conditions where a high selection ratio to such Si-based materials as a silicon substrate or a poly-silicon layer can be achieved.
However, such conditions selectivity to a substrate, anisotropy etching speed, low polluting characteristics, and low damaging characteristics are related to each other in a trade-off relationship, so that etching is carried out in actual processes appropriately adjusting the conditions in a range allowable for the actual operations.
Conventionally for etching layers made of Si-based materials such as monocrystal silicon, polycrystal silicon, refractory metallic silicide having a high melting point or polycide, a Freon (chlorofluorocarbon) -based gas represented by, for instance, Freon 113 (C.sub.2 Cl.sub.3 F.sub.3) is widely used as an etching gas. It is because the Freon-based gas has F and Cl as constituting elements in one molecule, so that etching due to both the radical reaction and the ion assist reaction can be carried out, and also a high anisotropy can be achieved while protecting the side walls with a carbon-based polymer deposited from the gas phase.
It has been pointed out, however, that the Freon-based gas, which is a representative etching gas for layers made of Si-based materials, is widely considered as adding to the destruction of the ozone layer around the earth, and it is expected that production and use of the materials will be prohibited in the near future. For this reason, now many efforts are made for development of other etching gasses which are available as alternatives to these sedimentary carbon-based gasses as well as for development of technologies enabling use of the alternative etching gasses to be developed in the future. For instance, the etching technology with a bromine gas (Br.sub.2) or a hydrogen bromide-based gas (HBr) has been developed (Refer to, for instance, the Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. 89310/1990).
In etching layers made of Si-based materials with a hydrogen bromide-based gas, side wall protection is carried out by a product from a reaction between the photoresist and Br, or between Si and Br. Also in over-etching where the priority is put on the selectivity to the substrate, the anisotropy, which has a trade-off relation with the selectivity to substrate becomes lower. For this reason, sometimes etching may be carried out under process conditions, which compensates for a decrease of anisotropy by using a more effective side wall protection film such as, for instance, a SiO.sub.2 film.
On the other hand, when an etching process ends, usually a resist layer used as an etching mask must be removed by means of ashing with an oxygen (O.sub.2) gas plasma. Then the side wall protection film used in etching a layer made of Si-based materials is also deposited on a side wall of the resist layer as a mask, only this side wall protection film, which can not be removed by the oxygen gas plasma, may remain in a belt-shaped area even after the resist layer has been removed by means of ashing.
As the side wall protection film left in the belt-shaped area adversely affects such factors as flatness of inter-layer films stacked in the subsequent processes, it must be removed before the inter-layer films are stacked. In the conventional technology, after anisotropic processing making use of a side wall protection film is carried out, the side wall protection film is removed by means of wet etching with a fluoric acid solution, but in case of wet etching with a fluoric acid solution the gate oxide film bed is simultaneously etched. This does not cause any specific problem if the minimum processing line width is fully large and also the gate oxide film bed is fully thick, but recently as the gate oxide film bed has been becoming thinner and thinner with increasing speed in association with technological advance in this field, this gives some influences over the gate oxide film bed to be etched, and sometimes the gate oxidized film bed is damaged.


A gauge-plate insulator for positioning between and mounting to two rail-spacing members that in turn extend transversely between and mount to two parallel rails to mechanically interconnect but electrical insulate the rail-spacing members and thus the parallel rails. The insulator includes a plate, front and rear mounting holes extending vertically through the plate, and a tongue extending downward from the plate along its lateral midsection from front to back. In typical embodiments, the insulator includes elongated platforms surrounding the mounting holes and arranged perpendicular to the tongue, and the insulator is of a one-piece monolithic construction made of a material selected for mechanical strength and electric insulation. And in some embodiments the insulator includes a tented top surface, ribs extending perpendicular to the tongue, and/or multi-level platforms.

In order to maintain a uniform spacing between parallel rails of railroad track systems, transverse rail-spacing gauge-plate members are fixedly mounted between the parallel rails. The rails have traditionally been made of a metal such as steel selected for strength, durability, and electrical conductivity, while the rail-spacing members have traditionally been made of a metal such as steel selected for strength and durability but not for electrical conductivity. In addition, railroad tracks are typically divided into sections (or blocks) and each section is electrified to provide for detecting the presence of a train on any given section of the track. The train-detection systems monitor the sections of the track to determine whether the metallic rails are isolated from each other (indicating that no train is present on those track sections) or whether they are short-circuited (by a train providing an electrical path between the rails to indicate that a train is present on that track section).
To electrically insulate the parallel rails from each other, inline pairs of the rail-spacing members are provided with their outer-positioned ends mounted to the rails, their inner-positioned ends spaced apart, and a gauge-plate insulator mounted to their spaced-apart inner ends to form an electrical-insulation gap while still mechanically interconnecting them. These gauge-plate insulators are electrically insulating, so they include non-metallic (non-conducting) materials. Known gauge-plate insulators include a metallic core and a polyurethane insulating encasement. Other gauge-plate insulators have been made of a laminated SCOTCHPLY material, a high-strength fiber-reinforced phenolic material (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, Saint Paul, Minn.), and require the use of a separate insulating plug between the ends of the gauge-plate insulator to prevent material build-up that can cause an electrical short-circuit. While these known designs of gauge-plate insulators have proven operationally sufficient, they tend to be costly due to the high-performance materials required and/or their multi-piece constructions.
Accordingly, it can be seen that there exists a need for a more cost-effective yet still durable and reliable way to mechanically interconnect but electrically insulate parallel rails of railroad tracks from each other. It is to the provision of solutions to this and other problems that the present invention is primarily directed.


An apparatus for assembling and hemming fabrics by hot applying strips (5) or films (5) to which thermofusible plastic materials have been applied or spread, comprising, on a bearing framework, a strip or film supplying spool (4), the strip or film being entrained on a pulling roller (7), cooperating with a sensor roller (8) mounted on a swinging lever (9), supporting a strip guiding pawl (13), the strip being further entrained on a strip supply pulling element. Downstream of the pawl (13) a guiding assembly is provided, having an adjustable width, and at the outlet of said guiding assembly, a pressing roller (30) is arranged, which is associated with a foot assembly (31), cooperating with entraining grippers (33, 34) for driving with an indexing type of movement, the fabric materials on which the strip (5) is applied.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for continuously applying, by a hot applying method, rigid and/or elastic strips or films, either clear, colored, printed upon, embossed and/or decorated, on fabrics and/or materials in general.
The present invention allows to perform the following operations:                joining two surfaces by strips and/or films;                    arranging a strip and/or film on an edge of a textile support, but not for obtaining a decorative effect;            arranging a strip or film on an edge of a textile support, but not for providing a decorating effect, but for providing the edge with resilient properties;            curling at will the support element by controlling a differential assembly.
As is known, for making cloth articles, and in particular female underwear article, it is conventional to use fabric materials having a comparatively low weight.
In this case, during the preparing of the mentioned cloth articles, the use of seams causes an undesired thickness increase.
For solving the above mentioned problem, strips or films are hot applied to the cloth articles, both for assembling the fabric pieces, and for hemming or trimming the edge portion of the fabric materials, to provide a satisfactory finishing and strength for the cloth article.

Apparatus for hot applying strips or films on textile or non textile supports


Disclosed are methods of spray drying blood plasma using a two-step drying process.

Making up about 55% of the total volume of whole blood, blood plasma is a whole blood component in which blood cells and other constituents of whole blood are suspended. Blood plasma further contains a mixture of over 700 proteins and additional substances that perform functions necessary for bodily health, including clotting, protein storage, and electrolytic balance, amongst others. When extracted from whole blood, blood plasma may be employed to replace bodily fluids, antibodies, and clotting factors. Accordingly, blood plasma is extensively used in medical treatments.
To facilitate storage and transportation of blood plasma until use, plasma is typically preserved by freezing soon after its collection from a donor. Fresh-Frozen Plasma (FFP) is obtained through a series of steps involving centrifugation of whole blood to separate plasma and then freezing the collected plasma within less than 8 hours of collecting the whole blood. In the United States, the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) standard for storing FFP is storage up to 12 months from collection when stored at temperature of −18° C. or below. FFP may also be stored for up to 7 years from collection if maintained at a temperature of −65° C. or below. In Europe, FFP has a shelf life of only 3 months if stored at temperatures between −18° C. to −25° C., and for up to 36 months if stored at colder than −25° C. If thawed, European standards dictate that the plasma must be transfused immediately or stored at 1° C. to 6° C. and transfused within 24 hours. If stored longer than 24 hours, the plasma must be relabeled for other uses or discarded.
Notably, however, FFP must be kept in a temperature-controlled environment of −18° C. or colder throughout its duration of storage to prevent degradation of certain plasma proteins and maintain its efficacy, which adds to the cost and difficulty of storage and transport. Furthermore, FFP must be thawed prior to use, resulting in a delay of 30-80 minutes before it may be used after removal from cold storage.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop alternative techniques for recovery and storage of plasma.

Methods and systems for multi-stage drying of plasma


A process of bonding a plastic is provided. The process comprises applying to a plastic surface an aqueous dispersion of a hydroxyl-functional polyurethane prepolymer obtained by:. (1) reaction of: PA1 (2) subsequent dispersion in water and at least partial reaction of the remaining NCO groups with an aminoalcohol and, optionally, subsequent chain extension. The process further comprises drying said applied aqueous dispersion to form a primer and bonding said plastic surface having said primer to a part to be joined thereto. The process is particularly useful for priming plastics such as polyvinyl chloride.. a polyol component containing a polyester polyol, PA2 a compound selected from the group of compounds containing groups capable of salt formation and at least two isocyanate-reactive groups, PA2 an isocyanate component in a stoichiometric excess, at least 20% by weight of said component consisting of tetramethyl xylylene diisocyanate, and

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a water-based polyurethane primer for bonding plastics, more especially PVC.
2. Discussion of Related Art
It is known from EP 307 546 that solventless aqueous polyurethane dispersions can be used as a primer coating for plastic films based on rigid or semirigid PVC for the lamination of porous materials In addition, dispersion primers based on ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene/vinyl acetate rubber or acrylates are also described. A dispersion adhesive is mentioned as the adhesive. Chipboards and rigid PVC films are bonded to one another with this primer/adhesive combination.
In addition, it is generally known that PVC adherends can readily be bonded to one another with a diffusion adhesive based on tetrahydrofuran and 10 to 20% of PVC or on a two-pack adhesive such as, for example, epoxy, polyurethane, polymethyl methacrylate or unsaturated polyester (see G. Habenicht "Kleben: Grundlagen, Technologie, Anwendungen (Bonding: Basic Principles, Technology, Applications)" (1990), page 447). Unfortunately, these adhesives are attended by the disadvantage that they emit solvent and thus endanger the environment or require a longer time for setting than the machine cycle times allow. It is also generally known that, for example, PVC adherends or other adherends can be bonded to one another with a polyurethane hotmelt adhesive (see Michaeli/Netze/Freitag "Marktspiegel Kunststoffkleben" Verlag TUV Rheinland (1991), pages 323 and 324). It is also known that PVC profiles and PVC films can be bonded with a polyurethane hotmelt adhesive. The profile is prepared by treatment with chlorinated hydrocarbons, for example with methylene chloride. Accordingly, this bonding process also involves emissions and endangers the environment, all the more so insofar as PVC profiles are very widely used as solid, hollow or core profiles by virtue of their ease of production by extrusion, their low costs and their good performance properties. The PVC to be used for this purpose may be both flexible PVC and semirigid or rigid PVC. To improve the profiles and, above all, to enhance their appearance, they are surface-treated. This is generally done by lamination with a film. The films preferably consist of PVC and are generally between 0.1 and 1.0 mm thick. As with many bonded joints in the industrial sector, the lamination of PVC profiles is also determined by the production process, In other words, high initial strength in a short time and even greater ultimate strength are generally necessary.
Against the background of this prior art, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide an adhesive system which would be solvent-free and which would bond plastics, more especially PVC profiles, to PVC films and other plastic and paper films in a reasonably quick time so that processing would not be slowed down in any way. The performance properties would of course not suffer either.

Bonding plastics with water-based polyurethane primer