The invention relates to a smartcard receiving device, comprising a contact interface (11) for communicating with the received smartcard (2); a remote communication interface (13) for communicating with a first remote device (3); a protocol bridge (12) designed to establish a transaction with the received smartcard (2) through the contact interface (11). The smartcard receiving device further comprises a communicating device detector (14, 15) adapted to detect a second remote device (5) communicating according to a remote communication protocol different from the communication protocol used by said remote communication interface (13). The protocol bridge (12) interrupts the transaction with the received smartcard (2) when the second remote device (5) communicating according to said different remote communication protocol is detected.

The present invention generally relates to smartcards, and more particularly relates to dual interface smartcards having only one of its communication interfaces simultaneously available.
Smart cards are plastic cards having an embedded smartcard chip. A smartcard chip is an integrated microcontroller generally comprising a central processing unit, a random access memory, a ROM memory and an EEPROM memory. A dual interface smartcard is a smartcard provided with a contact and a contactless communication interfaces. The integrated microcontroller is connected to both communication interfaces to perform transactions. Such a smartcard can carry out a transaction through its contact interface when it is hosted in a smartcard reader. Such a smartcard can carry out a transaction through its contactless interface when a contactless reader is located in near-field area. Smartcards are widely used to store sensitive information such as cryptographic keys or software routines that implement valuable algorithms or know-how.
Both the contact and contactless interfaces can be inappropriate for specific applications. For instance, an access to secured computer networks can request a user authentication. An authentication through the contact interface of the smartcard requires connecting a smartcard reader to a terminal of the user. An authentication transaction through the smartcard contact interface can be carried out only when the smartcard is inserted inside the smartcard reader. Thus, the user has to leave the smartcard inside the smartcard reader as long as he wants to keep his access granted to the secured network. However, this smartcard can be used to have the user authenticated by further devices as well. For instance, the smartcard can be used to open security doors to/from restricted areas through its contactless interface. If a user wants to cross a door to enter or leave a restricted area, he has to remove his smartcard from the smartcard reader to authenticate and open the door.
Further developments have been made to allow the user to keep his smartcard in his pockets while he accesses the secured network, to allow such a user to move inside the room without disconnecting the smartcard from the user terminal and to avoid the necessity of connecting specific smartcard readers to the user terminal. A badge holder has notably been designed to enhance the communication range of the smartcard. Such a badge holder receives the smartcard and can communicate with the smartcard through a contact interface. The badge holder further comprises a Bluetooth interface (Bluetooth is defined in the IEEE 802.15 standards). Bluetooth communication system has the main advantage of being already widely integrated on most of the distributed computers and smart-phones. The contact interface and the Bluetooth interface of the badge holder are connected through a protocol translator or bridge. The protocol bridge establishes a communication between the smartcard using its contact interface (for instance through an ISO 7816 protocol) and the Bluetooth interface (through an UART interface for instance).
However, the use of such a badge holder still has some drawbacks. Indeed, the user may be unable to unlock a door and leave the room if a communication between the smartcard (using its contact interface) and the user terminal is active. Indeed, a dual interface smartcard is in most cases unable to perform a transaction on its contact interface concurrently with a transaction on its contactless interface. Thus, if a user leaves his desk and approaches a door he wishes to unlock, the badge holder hosted in his pocket will still be communicating with his terminal in vicinity. The transaction through the contact interface of the smartcard has to be ended first. Thus, the smartcard is unable to carry out a transaction with the door through its contactless interface while a communication through its contact interface is active. The user has to deliberately end the transaction between his terminal and the smartcard.
Thus, there is a need for an electronic circuit or a smartcard solving one of these drawbacks. The invention proposes a smartcard receiving device, comprising a contact interface, a remote communication interface, a protocol bridge and a communicating device detector. The contact interface is designed for communicating with the received smartcard. The remote communication interface designed for communicating with a first remote device. The protocol bridge is designed to establish a transaction with the received smartcard through the contact interface and to translate the data received according to the protocol of one of said interfaces into the protocol of the other of said interfaces. The communicating device detector is adapted to detect a second remote device communicating according to a remote communication protocol different from the communication protocol used by said remote communication interface. The protocol bridge interrupts the transaction with the received smartcard when the second remote device communicating according to said different remote communication protocol is detected.

Smartcard receiving device for providing a remote communication with switching means


A self-orienting optical component advantageous for assembling sub-optical assemblies in which the components must be precisely aligned comprises a component having a magnetic film deposited on a portion of its outer surface so that a magnetic field applied adjacent the optical component will induce the optical component to move to a pre-determined orientation. Advantageously, the optical component also has further layers deposited on portions of its outer surface for aiding in adhesion, soldering, or light transmission. An improved method of assembling an optical subassembly comprises depositing a film of magnetic material over a portion of the outer surface of the optical component and applying a magnetic field to the optical component to induce it to move to a pre-determined orientation to aid in positioning it on a submount.

In fabricating optical and optoelectronic devices, optical components need to be firmly attached to a substrate within the path of light. Such devices include lasers, p-i-n diodes, and assemblies of such devices with passive elements such as planar waveguides. Presently, methods for attaching the optical components to a substrate include aluminum oxide ("ALO") bonding, solder bonding, and solder-glass bonding. ALO bonding methods present many technical difficulties, including the need for high temperatures and high stress which have a tendency to produce defects such as cracks that can remain hidden for a long time and cause reliability problems. Another method of attachment includes epoxy bonding, but this has the disadvantage of relying upon use of organic materials which, when applied to optical components, can promote facet failure or moisture which likewise creates reliability problems.
Bonding of optical components is further complicated because the components often include objects such as spherical ball and cylindrical lenses which, due to their smooth outer surfaces, are difficult to handle. Soldering of the components requires depositing a metallization layer on their surfaces, which destroys the symmetry of the components and increases handling problems. Optical components used in laser communications systems or other systems involving gain media may be required to have specialized asymmetrical coatings on their surfaces for specific purposes, such as the avoidance of circulating rainbow or "whispering gallery" modes of spherical lenses, which can cause excess feedback and self-modulation. These asymmetrical components are particularly difficult to handle, as they often must be carefully attached during assembly on a substrate with the asymmetrical feature oriented in a precise alignment relative to the path of light. Challenges have been encountered in developing apparatus capable of placing the components with the required precision and also applying the pressure to them needed for bonding, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,105 issued Mar. 16, 1993, to Nguyen entitled "Placement and Bonding Technique for Optical Elements," assigned to AT&T Co., the predecessor of the assignee herein, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Pick-and-place tools for manual orientation and placement of optical components can be slow and expensive.
Given these challenges encountered with present methods of attachment, it is desirable to provide an optical component and method for attaching the optical component that minimizes difficulties associated with manually, precisely orienting the component. Advantageously, this method should exhibit high reliability and be compatible with existing technologies, such as solder bonding or thermocompression, already in use in packaging. The instant invention addresses these needs by providing a substantially self-orienting optical component which aids in assembly and methods for assembling a sub-optical assembly comprising passively orienting the component. Further advantages may appear more fully upon consideration of the description given below.

Optical components having magnetic thin films for orientation and method of assembling same


In order to improve a powder coating arrangement for the application of melted coating powder onto a substrate, comprising a preparation unit for generating a flow of coating powder, a powder applicator head, from which the flow of coating powder issues and spreads in the form of a directed jet of powder towards the substrate, a melting zone, through which the flow of coating powder passes in a direction of passage, and an optical beam guidance system, which directs a laser beam generated by a laser onto the melting zone to melt the coating powder, such that the coating powder may be essentially completely melted before impact on the substrate, it is proposed that the melting zone is arranged in the powder applicator head, and that the optical beam guidance system is equipped with several elements for reflecting the laser beam, which permit the laser beam to pass several times through at least one heating zone for the flow of coating powder in the region of the melting zone transversely to the direction of passage.

The invention relates to a powder coating arrangement for the application of melted coating powder onto a substrate, comprising a preparation unit for generating a flow of coating powder, a powder applicator head, from which the flow of coating powder issues and spreads in the form of a directed jet of powder towards the substrate, a melting zone, through which the flow of coating powder passes in a direction of passage, and an optical beam guidance system, which directs a laser beam generated by a laser onto the melting zone to melt the coating powder.
Such powder coating arrangements are known from the prior art. In these, the melting zone is located for the most part in the vicinity of the substrate, so that the optical beam guidance system aligns the laser beam in the direction of the substrate and the powder jet and laser beam meet in the melting zone close to a surface of the substrate. In this arrangement, the coating powder is not completely melted, but partially melted. Therefore, the laser beam not only heats the coating powder transported in the jet of powder in the melting zone, but also simultaneously heats a melt forming on the substrate, in which the coating powder is ultimately melted completely.
As a result of this, it is not possible using such a powder coating arrangement, for example, to coat all those substrates which change in an undesirable manner through the action of laser light.
Therefore, the object of the invention is to improve a powder coating arrangement of the type described in such a way that the coating powder may be essentially completely melted before impact on the substrate.

Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.


A method for a piezoelectric actuator and an ink-jet head uses, for forming a lower electrode on a vibration plate, metal-nano particles which can start to sinter with a low temperature as a conductive material; and uses, for forming a piezoelectric layer, an aerosol deposition method requiring no calcination step. Accordingly, upon forming the lower electrode and piezoelectric layer, any calcination under severe condition is not needed. In addition, the calcination of the lower electrode can be advanced simultaneously with an annealing step required after forming the piezoelectric layer. Accordingly, the thermal cycle during producing process can be minimized, thereby suppressing the exfoliation of layers and diffusion of material forming vibration plate into the piezoelectric layer due to thermal history, and consequently lower the degradation of piezoelectric characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric actuator, an ink-jet head, a method of producing the piezoelectric actuator, and a method of producing the ink-jet head.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a piezoelectric actuator used in an ink-jet head or the like is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-334087. In this piezoelectric actuator, a substrate (vibration plate) is provided such that the substrate closes openings of pressure chambers each of which communicates with a nozzle opening in a channel forming body; and a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and an upper electrode are stacked in layers (laminated) on this substrate. When an electric field is applied between the upper electrode and the lower electrode, the substrate is bent with the deformation of the piezoelectric layer. Due to this, ink in the pressure chambers is pressurized and is discharged from the nozzle openings of the pressure chambers.
Such a piezoelectric actuator is manufactured, for example, as described below. First of all, a metal paste such as Pt paste is coated and then calcinated to form a lower electrode. Next, a paste containing particles of a piezoelectric material such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is coated on the lower electrode, and then calcinated to form a piezoelectric layer on the lower electrode (sol-gel method).
In the above-mentioned method, however, the substrate is exposed to a high-temperature environment during calcination. Accordingly, due to a difference in a coefficient of thermal expansion of materials forming the layers respectively, a stress is generated in an interface of overlapping layers, which in turn causes exfoliation of the layers. Therefore, sufficient piezoelectric characteristics cannot be achieved in some cases. Further, in some cases, an element contained in the substrate passes through the lower electrode layer and diffuses in the piezoelectric layer, thereby degrading the piezoelectric characteristics.
Namely, upon forming the electrode, it is necessary to perform calcination at a very high temperature that is not less than a melting point of the metal as the electrode material (for example, when the electrode material is Pt, not less than 900° C.) Further, upon forming the piezoelectric layer, it is necessary to perform calcination at a very high temperature that is not less than a sintering temperature of an oxide ceramics as the piezoelectric material (for example, not less than 900° C.) Furthermore, in the film formation by the sol-gel method, the upper limit for the thickness of a film formed by one step of paste coating followed by calcination is about several μm. Therefore, to form a layer having a substantial thickness, the step of coating and calcination needs to be repeated for several times. In such a case, the substrate is subjected to high-temperature environment for several times. Since the severe heat treatment is performed repeatedly during the production process, the degradation of piezoelectric characteristics due to the exfoliation of layers and/or the diffusion becomes prominent.

Method of producing a piezoelectric actuator and an ink-jet head


Introduced are methods and systems for an adjustable bed device configured to: gather biological signals associated with multiple users, such as heart rate, breathing rate, or temperature; analyze the gathered human biological signals; and heat or cool a bed based on the analysis.

According to current scientific research into sleep, there are two major stages of sleep: rapid eye movement ("REM") sleep, and non-REM sleep. First comes non-REM sleep, followed by a shorter period of REM sleep, and then the cycle starts over again.
There are three stages of non-REM sleep. Each stage can last from 5 to 15 minutes. A person goes through all three stages before reaching REM sleep.
In stage one, a person's eyes are closed, but the person is easily woken up. This stage may last for 5 to 10 minutes.
In stage two, a person is in light sleep. A person's heart rate slows and the person's body temperature drops. The person's body is getting ready for deep sleep.
Stage three is the deep sleep stage. A person is harder to rouse during this stage, and if the person was woken up, the person would feel disoriented for a few minutes. During the deep stages of non-REM sleep, the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system.
REM sleep happens 90 minutes after a person falls asleep. Dreams typically happen during REM sleep. The first period of REM typically lasts 10 minutes. Each of later REM stages gets longer, and the final one may last up to an hour. A person's heart rate and breathing quickens. A person can have intense dreams during REM sleep, since the brain is more active. REM sleep affects learning of certain mental skills.
Even in today's technological age, supporting healthy sleep is relegated to the technology of the past such as an electric blanket, a heated pad, or a bed warmer. The most advanced of these technologies, an electric blanket, is a blanket with an integrated electrical heating device which can be placed above the top bed sheet or below the bottom bed sheet. The electric blanket may be used to pre-heat the bed before use or to keep the occupant warm while in bed. However, turning on the electric blanket requires the user to remember to manually turn on the blanket, and then manually turn it on. Further, the electric blanket provides no additional functionality besides warming the bed.

Methods and systems for gathering human biological signals and controlling a bed device


A method for testing an analog-to-digital converter is disclosed. In an implementation, the method may include providing input data to analog-to-digital converter circuitry. The analog-to-digital converter circuitry generates an output code based upon the input data. The method includes generating expected output code based upon the corresponding input data and generating an output code error signal based upon the difference of the output code and the expected output code. A predicted code error signal is modeled based upon corresponding code. The method also includes generating a noise error signal representing a difference between the output code error signal and the predicted code error.

Precision testing of high-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) can be very time consuming and very costly. For example, complete testing of all codes of a 16-bit ADC with the current state of the art ADC test methods will require 216 (e.g., 65,536) accurate measurements of discrete analog voltage levels (called transition voltages or transition points of the ADC) to completely test the integral nonlinearity (INL) and differential nonlinearity (DNL) of the ADC. In ADC characterization or post-silicon validation, this test needs to be repeated many times at multiple temperatures, at multiple supply voltages, and at multiple other environmental or control conditions. The overall linearity test of an ADC using the state of the art methods can take as long as several days, to several weeks, to even several months. This leads to long engineering cost and long time-to-market. In production test, a single linearity test of a 16 bit ADC can take several seconds to tens of seconds. Testing of higher resolution ADCs would take significantly longer times, with each extra bit requiring two (2), three (3), or four (4) times extra time during the doubling of the number of transition voltages and slower sampling rate. With each second costing about a nickel in production test, test cost of high resolution ADCs becomes expensive using state of the art methodology.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and methodology for analog-to-digital converter linearity testing


An ESD protection design using a gate-coupled substrate-triggered technique is provided. A required RC time constant maintained in the gate-coupled substrate-triggered ESD circuit is based on a parasitic MOS capacitor and larger resistor, in which a layout area for the substrate-triggered ESD protection design is significantly reduced.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an ESD protection circuit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a gate-coupled substrate-triggered ESD protection circuit in which a layout area therefor is significantly decreased.
2. Description of Related Art
With the continued miniaturization of integrated circuit (IC) devices, the current trend is to produce integrated circuits having shallower junction depths, thinner gate oxides, lightly-doped drain (LDD) structures, shallow trench isolation (STI) structures, and self-aligned silicide (salicide) processes, all of which are used in advanced sub-quarter-micron CMOS technologies. All of these processes make the related CMOS IC products to become more susceptible to electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage. Therefore, ESD protection circuits are built onto the chip to protect the devices and circuits of the IC against ESD damage. It is generally desired that the ESD robustness for commercial IC products be higher than 2 kV in human-body-model (HBM) ESD stress. To sustain ESD overstress, devices with large dimensions need to be designed into the on-chip ESD protection circuit, and require a large total layout area on the silicon substrate. Typically, an NMOS in an I/O ESD protection circuit has a total channel width that is greater than 300 μm. With such large device dimensions, the NMOS is often realized with multiple fingers in the layout. However, under an ESD stress, the multiple fingers of ESD protection NMOS do not uniformly turn on to bypass the ESD current. Only a portion of the fingers of the NMOS may be turned on, and consequently leading to damage from the ESD pulse. In this case, although the ESD protection NMOS has a very large device dimension, the ESD protection level is low. In order to improve the turn-on uniformity, a gate-driven design has been used to increase the ESD protection level of the large-device-dimension ESD protection NMOS. However, it has been found that the ESD protection level of the gate-driven NMOS decreases dramatically when the gate voltage is somewhat increased. The gate-driven design pulls ESD current flowing through the channel surface of the NMOS rather than the bulk. The NMOS is thus more easily burnt-out by the ESD energy. Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a schematic circuit diagram of prior art ESD protection design 100 using a substrate-triggered technique. As shown in FIG. 1, the ESD protection circuit design 100 includes an NMOS 102, an internal circuit 104, a pad 106, a substrate-biasing circuit 108, and a conductor for electrically connecting the internal circuit 104 with the pad 106. The NMOS 102 further includes a source 112, a drain 114 electrically connected to the pad 106, a gate 116, and a substrate 118 biased by the substrate-biasing circuit 108. When a positive ESD voltage zaps the pad 106, the bulk (substrate) of the ESD protection NMOS 102 is biased at some voltage level generated by the substrate-biasing circuit 108. With the substrate-biasing voltage, parasitic lateral n-p-n bipolar junction transistor (BJT) 120 effects in the NMOS 102 are triggered on to discharge the ESD current. In this substrate-triggered technique, the ESD current flowing through the NMOS 102 is far from the channel surface.
The substrate-triggered effect turns on a parasitic lateral n-p-n BJT 120 of the NMOS 102 structure to pull the current to flow through the bulk of the NMOS 102, which is far from the surface channel of the NMOS, and so avoids the drain LDD edge structure. The bulk of the NMOS 102 has a larger volume to dissipate ESD-generated heat. The substrate-triggered NMOS 102 can thus sustain a much higher ESD level within the same silicon area. The substrate-triggered technique has consequently become more important in sub-quarter-micron CMOS processes for effective on-chip substrate-triggered ESD protection.
Another ESD protection design 100 using a substrate-triggered technique is proposed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,768, entitled "MOS STRUCTURE WITH IMPROVED SUBSTRATE-TRIGGERED EFFECT FOR ON-CHIP ESD PROTECTION", assigned to Ker et al., which is owned by the same assignee as the present application. Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic circuit diagram of an output ESD protection circuit 200. The output ESD protection circuit 200 is realized by the substrate-triggered technique with the PMOS and NMOS device structure. As shown in FIG. 2, when a positive-to-VSS ESD zapping event occurs on the output pad 210, the VSS power terminal is grounded and the VDD power terminal is floated. The sharply-rising ESD voltage pulse is connected through a capacitor 202 to a gate 206 of NMOS 204. This connected voltage is maintained on the gate 206 of the NMOS 204 for a longer period of time by a resistor 208.
With a connected voltage greater than the threshold voltage (VTH) of the NMOS 204, the NMOS 204 is turned on and conducts some of the ESD current from the pad 210 through the ESD protection NMOS 212. With a trigger current generated from the NMOS 204, the ESD protection NMOS 212 is turned on more quickly to discharge the ESD current from the pad 210 to the VSS power terminal. The substrate-triggered current generated from the NMOS 204 triggers on the parasitic lateral n-p-n BJT 214 of the ESD protection NMOS 212 to pull the current to flow through the substrate (bulk) of the ESD protection NMOS 212, which is far from the surface channel of the ESD protection NMOS 212. The bulk of the ESD protection NMOS 212 has a larger volume to dissipate ESD-generated heat, and therefore the substrate-triggered ESD protection NMOS 212 can sustain a much higher ESD protection level.
With a negative-to-VDD ESD zapping on the output pad 210, the VDD power terminal is grounded and the VSS power terminal is floated. The sharply-falling negative ESD voltage pulse is connected through the capacitor 222 to the gate 226 of the PMOS 224. This connected voltage is maintained on the gate 226 of the PMOS 224 for a longer period of time by resistor 228. With a connected negative gate voltage, the PMOS 224 is turned on and conducts some negative ESD current from the pad 210 through the ESD protection PMOS 232. With a trigger current generated from the PMOS 224, the ESD protection PMOS 232 is turned on more quickly to discharge the negative ESD current from the pad 210 to the VDD power terminal. The substrate-triggered current generated from the PMOS 224 triggers on the parasitic lateral p-n-p BJT 234 of the ESD protection PMOS 232 to pull the current to flow through the N-type well (bulk) of the ESD protection PMOS 232, which is far from the surface channel of the ESD protection PMOS 232. The bulk of the ESD protection PMOS 232 has a larger volume to dissipate ESD-generated heat, and therefore the substrate-triggered ESD protection PMOS 232 can sustain a much higher ESD protection level.
However, in these proposed ESD protection design using a substrate-triggered technique, a RC time constant will consume a larger of layout area. The power clamp layout of the ESD protection design will also consume a large of layout area.

Gate-coupled substrate-triggered ESD protection circuit and integrated circuit therewith


A film forming apparatus includes: a film forming gas discharge part; an exhaust port; a rotation mechanism; a heating part configured to heat the interior of a reaction container to a temperature lower than a temperature of a film forming gas discharged from the film forming gas discharge part; first gas discharge holes opened, in the film forming gas discharge part, toward a gas temperature reducing member so that the film forming gas is cooled by colliding with the gas temperature reducing member inside the reaction container before the film forming gas is supplied to substrates; and second gas discharge holes opened, in the film forming gas discharge part, in a direction differing from an opening direction of the first gas discharge holes so that the film forming gas does not collide with the gas temperature reducing member before the film forming gas is supplied to the substrates.

In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a film forming process is performed in a vacuum atmosphere on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as "wafer"), which is a substrate. A film forming apparatus for performing such a process is provided with a vertical reaction container in which a substrate holder holding a plurality of wafers in a shelf configuration is loaded and the interior thereof is heated. A film forming gas may be supplied from a gas injector arranged on one end of the wafers toward the rotating wafers, and a gas may be exhausted from an exhaust port arranged at an opposite end of the wafers. A film forming apparatus having such a configuration is known in related arts. Furthermore, a configuration in which a gas is discharged from a gas injector toward wafers in two different directions is also known in related arts.
Studies have been done on forming a polymer film on a wafer by vapor deposition polymerization (VDP) using the above-mentioned film forming apparatus. The VDP is a method in which different kinds of monomers serving as film formation raw materials are vaporized and supplied to a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere and the respective monomers are subjected to polymerization reaction on the surface of the substrate to form a film. When performing the VDP, studies were made on maintaining a temperature capable of preventing the condensation and solidification of the monomers in a gas flow path extending from a vaporization part for vaporizing the monomers to the gas inductor, and a temperature inside a reaction container, i.e., a temperature of a wafer, is set lower than the temperature of the gas flow in order to increase the adsorption efficiency of the monomers and to achieve a high film forming efficiency as described below in the detailed description. However, the present inventors have found that when the temperatures of the respective parts are set in this manner, a difference in film thickness occurs between the central portion and the peripheral edge portion of the wafer because a difference in the temperature of the gas supplied to the respective portions in the plane of the wafer is generated as will be described later.

Film forming apparatus, film forming method, and storage medium


A dosing system for delivering a dosing fluid includes a dosing manifold having a front panel and a rear panel with a plurality of channels and a plurality of inlet and outlet ports in fluid communication with corresponding channels. The front panel holds a plurality of flow control devices in fluid communication with corresponding channels to control the flow of the dosing fluid in the channels. A dosing pump is in fluid communication with the dosing manifold and is configured to pump the dosing fluid through the dosing manifold.

The subject matter herein relates generally to dosing systems.
Dosing systems are in use in a wide variety of fields. The dosing systems use a metering pump to accurately deliver small doses of dosing fluids, such as liquid chemicals, into specific processes.
A typical dosing system uses a skid to mount metering pumps, a controller, individual piping connecting pressure relief valves, isolation valves, pressure gauges, back pressure valves among other devices. Current systems use standard pipe and fittings manually fitted together to connect the pumps, controls and valves. The assembly time for all of the components is high and may require a skilled installer. The pipe and fitting connections are potential leak points. The piping and fitting connections can be stressed and break. Additionally, a typical system size is approximately 2 feet wide by 3 feet tall and 2 feet deep. Such skids occupy valuable floor space in the plant or building where the dosing system is used.
A need remains for a dosing system that overcomes these and other problems.

Grundfos Pumps Manufacturing Corporation


The invention relates to a compact zoom lens system which can be applied to a relatively large image pickup device and can maintain sufficient image-formation capability even at a wide-angle end of 70xc2x0 or greater and a zoom ratio of about 10 or greater. The zoom lens system comprises a first lens group G1 having positive refracting power, a second lens group G2 having negative refracting power, a third lens group G3 having positive refracting power, a fourth lens group G4 having negative refracting power and a fifth lens group G5. During zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end of the system, the lens groups G1 to G5 are all moving. The first lens group G1 and the third lens group G3 move toward the object side in the process of zooming in such a way that-the spacings between the first and second lens groups G1 and G2 and the third and fourth lens groups G3 and G4 become wide, and at least the fourth lens group G4 or the fifth lens group G5 moves nonlinearly, so that fluctuations of an image plane position with zooming can be compensated for. Conditions for defining the power profiles of the first to fifth lens groups G1 to G5 are satisfied.

The present invention relates generally to a zoom lens, and more particularly to a wide-angle yet high-magnification zoom lens system best suited for use on cameras, etc.
From relatively old times, high-magnification zoom lenses for use with cameras have been developed in TV camera and chine camera applications. On video cameras, on the other hand, innovation has been spurred for both commercial and consumer purposes since their widespread use. For a zoom lens having high magnification and a field angle of 70xc2x0 or greater on its wide-angle side, a very high level of optical design is known to be required. one commonly used old type of zoom lens system comprises, in order from its object side, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power and a fourth lens group having positive refracting power, as typically shown in JP-B 2-48087. A great feature of this system is that both the first and fourth lens groups remain fixed during zooming.
There is a version stemming from this type, which is based on the concept of locating a front converter in the first lens group, as typically set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,534. This version is of large size due to an increased number of lenses, and is used in a focusing mode relying chiefly on the first lens group of the basic arrangement.
There is also proposed a wide-angle yet high-magnification zoom lens system comprising, from its object side, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power and a fourth lens group having positive refracting power, wherein the second to fourth lens groups are movable during zooming and focusing is carried out with the fourth lens group, as typically set forth in JP-A 6-148520. So far, this system has been used in video applications.
For instance, JP-A 9-5628 shows a zoom lens of the type comprising, in order from its object side, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having negative refracting power and a fourth lens group having positive refracting power. This type is one predecessor of the wide-angle yet high-magnification zoom lens system according to the present invention as will be described later. In this type, too, the same focusing mode as mentioned above is used.
For instance, JP-A 7-20381 shows a zoom lens of the type comprising, in order from its object side, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power and a fourth lens group having positive refracting power, wherein all the lens groups are movable during zooming.
The aforesaid zoom lens systems are found to have difficulty in accommodating to future image pick devices expected to increase in the number of pixels, although their lens arrangement is simple. In other words, these zoom lens systems have been originally developed for conventional silver salt film cameras. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,454 shows a zoom lens system comprising, in order from its object side, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power and a fourth lens group having positive refracting power which are all movable for zooming, and having a field angle of 80xc2x0 or greater at its wide-angle end.
JP-B 58-33531 has already showed a zoom lens system having a field angle of about 74xc2x0 to about 19xc2x0 and a zoom ratio of about 5 and comprising, in order from its object side, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group positive refracting power, a fourth lens group having negative refracting power and a fifth lens group having positive refracting power. A great feature of this system is that the first and second lens groups are moved as an integral unit for focusing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,950 shows a zoom lens system encompassing a field angle range of about 74xc2x0 to about 8.3xc2x0, and comprising, in order from its object side, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power, a fourth lens group having negative refracting power and a fifth lens group having positive refracting power, with the fifth lens group remaining fixed during zooming. Focusing is carried out with the second lens group having large power, as typically shown in JP-A 9-184982.
How to move the third lens group for focusing is typically disclosed in JP-A 10-133109, and the lens system disclosed therein is characterized by its large size and power profile. How to move back the fourth lens group for focusing is typically disclosed in JP-A 11-133303.
A high-magnification zoom lens system having a wide angle layout with its telephoto end including even a super-telephoto range such as one contemplated herein is susceptible to shakes during camera manipulation, which may otherwise cause a deterioration in image-formation capability. To this end, some compensation mechanism is needed. How to move an image in such a direction as to counteract an image movement on an image-formation plane due to shakes, etc. has been proposed in the prior art. For instance, JP-A 63-202714 shows a method of moving a part of image pickup lenses as a correction lens system in a direction vertical with respect to an optical axis which an optical system is assumed to have.
A primary purpose of the present invention is to develop a wide-angle yet high-magnification zoom lens system best suited for use on cameras, etc.
Some wide-angle yet high-magnification zoom lens systems have been proposed for conventional video cameras; however, never until now is any optical system having optical performance enough to fit for image pickup devices having more pixels than ever before proposed. In addition, much is still left to be desired in terms of the optical performance, and affinity for CCDs or the like, of silver salt cameras.
In view of an image pickup device having a microlens and influences of aliasing due to chromatic aberrations, etc., there is still growing demand for a zoom lens system, which is suitable for conventional video cameras and provides an optical system having a certain degree of telecentric nature. optical design based on a zoom lens for conventional video cameras makes a zoom lens system very large, and so offers a practically grave problem.
In view of such states of the prior art as explained above, one object of the present invention is to provide a zoom lens system of reduced size, which is applicable to a relatively large image pickup device and can keep sufficient image-formation capability even with a zoom ratio of about 10 or greater at a wide-angle end of 70xc2x0 or greater.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a zoom lens system of reduced size, which can be operated in a proper focusing mode.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a zoom lens system of reduced size, which can compensate for the movement of an image by moving lens groups in a proper manner.
According to one aspect of the present invention, these objects are achievable by the provision of a zoom lens system comprising, in order from an object of the zoom lens system, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power, a fourth lens group having negative refracting power and a fifth lens group having positive refracting power, characterized in that:
for zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end of said zoom lens system, a spacing between said first lens group and said second lens group and a spacing between said third lens group and said fourth lens group become wide and a spacing between said second lens group and said third lens group and a spacing between said fourth lens group and said fifth lens group become narrow, and
the following conditions are satisfied:
2.0 less than f1/fw less than 8.0xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
0.4 less than |f2/fw| less than 1.0xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
0.3 less than f3/fT345 less than 1.2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
0.6 less than |f4|/fT345 less than 5.0xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(4)
0.5 less than f5/fT345 less than 4.0xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(5)
where fw is the focal length of said zoom lens system at said wide-angle end, f1 is the focal length of said first lens group, f2 is the focal length of said second lens group, f3 is the focal length of said third lens group, f4 is the focal length of said fourth lens group, f5 is the focal length of said fifth lens group, and fT345 is the focal length of said third lens group to said fifth lens group at said telephoto end.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a zoom lens system comprising, in order from an object of the zoom lens system, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power, a fourth lens group having negative refracting power and a fifth lens group having positive refracting power, characterized in that:
for zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end of said zoom lens system, a spacing between said first lens group and said second lens group and a spacing between said third lens group and said fourth lens group become wide and a spacing between said second lens group and said third lens group and a spacing between said fourth lens group and said fifth lens group become narrow, and
said zoom lens system is focused on a finite object by moving said third lens group or a lens or lenses therein.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a zoom lens system comprising, in order from an object of the zoom lens system, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power, a fourth lens group having negative refracting power and a fifth lens group having positive refracting power, characterized in that:
for zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end of said zoom lens system, a spacing between said first lens group and said second lens group and a spacing between said third lens group and said fourth lens group become wide and a spacing between said second lens group and said third lens group and a spacing between said fourth lens group and said fifth lens group become narrow, and
said zoom lens system is focused on a finite object by moving said fourth lens group or a lens or lenses therein.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a zoom lens system comprising, in order from an object of the zoom lens system, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power, a fourth lens group having negative refracting power and a fifth lens group having positive refracting power, characterized in that:
for zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end of said zoom lens system, a spacing between said first lens group and said second lens group and a spacing between said third lens group and said fourth lens group become wide and a spacing between said second lens group and said third lens group and a spacing between said fourth lens group and said fifth lens group become narrow, and
said zoom lens system is focused on a finite object by moving said fifth lens group or a lens or lenses therein.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a zoom lens system comprising, in order from an object of the zoom lens system, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power, a fourth lens group having negative refracting power and a fifth lens group having positive refracting power, characterized in that:
for zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end of said zoom lens system, each of said first lens group to said fifth lens group moves while said first lens group and said third lens group move toward said object side during said zooming in such a way that spacings between said first lens group and said second lens group and between said third lens group and said fourth lens group become wide,
a fluctuation of an image plane position with said zooming is compensated for by non-linear movement of at least said third lens group, said fourth lens group or said fifth lens group, and
the following conditions are are satisfied:
2.0 less than f1/fw less than 8.0xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
0.4 less than |f2/fw| less than 1.0xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
0.3 less than f3/fT345 less than 1.2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
0.6 less than |f4|/fT345 less than 5.0xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(4)
0.5 less than f5/fT345 less than 4.0xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(5)
where fw is the focal length of said zoom lens system at said wide-angle end, f1 is the focal length of said first lens group, f2 is the focal length of said second lens group, f3 is the focal length of said third lens group, f4 is the focal length of said fourth lens group, f5 is the focal length of said fifth lens group, and fT345 is the focal length of said third lens group to said fifth lens group at said telephoto end.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.


A heat exchange system includes an electrode configured to electrostatically control a flow of a heated gas stream in the vicinity of a heat transfer surface and/or a heat-sensitive surface.

Typical external combustion systems such as combustors and boilers may include relatively complicated systems to maximize the extraction of heat from a heated gas stream. Generally, such systems may rely on forced or natural convection to transfer heat from the heated gas stream through heat transfer surfaces to heat sinks.
Other systems, which may include the combustion systems indicated above, or may include other systems such as turbo-jet engines, ram- or scram-jet engines, and rocket engines, for example, are limited with respect to combustion temperature or reliability due to erosion of critical parts by hot gases. It would be desirable to reduce heat transfer to temperature-sensitive surfaces of such systems.

Method and apparatus for electrical control of heat transfer


Sustained release pharmaceutical compound delivery compositions and methods for their production are disclosed wherein ion exchange resin particles are loaded with releasably bound pharmaceutical compounds and incorporated in an aqueous reversibly gelling polymeric solution. The pores of the ion exchange resin are sufficiently small to lock in the pharmaceutical compound without exposure to the large polymer molecules. The pharmaceutical compound remains bound within the pores of the ion exchange resin particles until after administration to a target tissue site where small ions migrate into the pores and initiate an exchange reaction.

A common problem with the administration of many pharmaceutical compounds, including therapeutic and diagnostic drugs, has been the need to retain effective quantities of these compounds in contact with targeted tissue sites for sufficient periods of time to accomplish the desired therapeutic or diagnostic purpose. This problem is particularly acute in connection with physiological systems characterized by rapid fluid turnover or drainage. For example, in the ocular environment tear turnover and drainage through the lacrimal drainage system quickly remove the major portion of any pharmaceutical compound administered to the surface of the eye so that only a small fraction of the original dosage remains in contact with the ocular tissue for any period of time. Analogous problems are encountered in connection with the treatment of the nasal mucosa, oral and anal cavities, uro-genital track, vagina and similar physiologic environments.
Early approaches at addressing this problem generally relied upon the repeated administration of relatively large dosages of pharmaceutical compounds to compensate for the rapid loss of the compounds following their administration to the target site. Though relatively successful at maintaining effective concentrations of the desired pharmaceutical agents in contact with the target tissue such strategies were wasteful and had a number of drawbacks. These drawbacks included the expense associated with using relatively large quantities of pharmaceutical compounds, patient discomfort with repeated drug administration and systemic side-effects associated with large and frequent drug doses.
Alternative approaches to the solution of this problem utilized viscous ointments and gels as delivery vehicles for the pharmaceutical compounds. These semi-solid delivery vehicles slowed down the rapid loss of the pharmaceutical compounds and retained an adequate dosage in contact with the target tissue. However, effectively delivering a controlled drug dosage with such widely variable systems proved difficult. Additionally, though satisfactory for direct topical application to mucous membranes, skin and the conjunctiva of the eye, such viscous delivery vehicles were not suitable for injection. Moreover, when utilized to treat ocular conditions such drug containing ointments and gels formed barriers to sight and produced an uncomfortable and aesthetically unpleasant crusting along the edges of the eyelids. These drawbacks as well as the possibility of blockage of the lacrimal duct when used to treat the eye lead to decreased patient acceptability and utilization of these systems.
A more modern approach directed at overcoming these problems has been the use of controlled or sustained release drug delivery systems. Typically, these systems utilize a polymeric matrix incorporating a therapeutic or diagnostic pharmaceutical compound. The polymer matrix is placed in contact with the target tissue site. Once in position, the incorporated pharmaceutical compounds are released in a controlled manner through diffusion from the polymer matrix or in response to erosion of the polymer through mechanical or chemical means. Though generally effective, a significant disadvantage associated with such macroscopic controlled release inserts was the need for medical personnel to position and remove the devices. Additionally, patient discomfort with the inserted devices limited their use.
The subsequent development of microparticulate polymeric drug delivery vehicles addressed some of these problems. Once suspended in solutions of appropriate viscosities they were capable of either topical administration or administration through injection. Additionally, when properly formulated, patients were able to self-administer such microparticulate suspensions in the form of drops or ointments. However, in spite of these successes significant problems remain with the administration and handling of microparticulate drug delivery vehicles. For example, fluid turnover or drainage at the target site may prematurely sweep the microparticulates from the target tissue along with the carrier liquid. This problem is particularly acute when microparticulate suspensions are administered as eye drops.
Further detracting from their utility, microparticulate drug delivery vehicles formed from water labile polymers must be stored in an anhydrous environment until just prior to use. Unless a liquid carrier other than water is used to suspend such microparticulates, the end user must suffer the inconvenience of combining the aqueous liquid carrier with the microparticulates immediately prior to administration. Though water labile erodible polymer microparticulates may be preferred because they do not require removal from the target site following administration, their inability to remain suspended in a ready-to-use formulation makes it virtually impossible to provide a pre-mixed water labile microparticulate drug delivery vehicle with even a minute shelf life.
Further compounding these problems, the therapeutic and diagnostic compounds that typically would be incorporated into such microparticulate delivery vehicles are often hydrophilic, water soluble, or they unfavorably interact with the polymeric matrix in the formulation. As a result, during storage in aqueous suspension these pharmaceutical compounds will leach from the microparticulate carriers into the carrier solution. This may result in a substantial loss of the desired pharmaceutical activity as well as directly impacting the ability to control the drug delivery rate from the suspension. Thus, depending upon the diffusion rate of the hydrophilic, water soluble pharmaceutical compound involved, the available shelf life of a microparticulate suspension will be much shorter than even the minimum desirable shelf life.
In addition to the problems of shelf life and long-term storage instability, when hydrophilic and water soluble pharmaceutical compounds are incorporated into polymeric drug delivery vehicles there is a significant problem in maintaining control of the actual drug delivery characteristics including drug release rate and drug delivery duration. Undesirably fast delivery rates can result from a variety of factors including the extent of drug loading within the polymer matrix, polymer swelling, diffusion rate and erosion rate as well as the length of time the polymer has remained in suspension prior to administration at the target site. Premature delivery also decreases the duration of drug availability.
An analogous drug delivery suspension directed at reducing patient discomfort associated with the administration of effective amounts of ocular pharmaceutical compounds is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,920 issued to Jani et al. Jani et al disclose a sustained release ophthalmic formulation for treating glaucoma without the unpleasant stinging sensation normally associated with compounds for lowering intraocular pressure. The disclosed formulation incorporates an active pharmaceutical compound held in suspension by controlled cationic-anionic interactions achieved with a cationic exchange resin dispersed in an aqueous solution or gel of a polymer. The formulation is compounded by dispersing the cationic exchange resin in water, adding the active component and then the polymer. When administered to the eye as a pourable liquid salt the active ingredient held by the cationic exchange resin and the polymer is released when the ions naturally present in the tear fluid compete with the bound active ingredient for sites on the polymer vehicle and ionic exchange resin.
While reportedly effective at reducing ocular discomfort, this formulation frequently does not have the retention capabilities of gels, cremes, and other highly viscous drug delivery formulations. The drug loaded ion exchange resin suspensions are deliverable to ocular environments utilizing drop instillable techniques, however, the suspension are subject to drainage through the lacrimal system as a result of continuous fluid turnover in the eye. Thus, while providing a medium for controlled drug delivery by way of the ion exchange resins, use of these suspension systems can result in significant and premature drug loss.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a sustained release pharmaceutical drug delivery composition having improved delivery characteristics and enhanced long-term storage stability.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a pharmaceutical drug delivery composition that is particularly well suited for use with hydrophilic, water soluble or water reactive pharmaceutical compounds and which can be stored for a significant period of time prior to use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sustained release pharmaceutical drug delivery composition with bioadhesive properties which enhance its retention at the target site.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a drop instillable sustained release pharmaceutical drug delivery composition which increases in viscosity when exposed to physiological fluids thus enhancing its retention at the target site.

Compositions for controlled delivery of pharmaceutical compounds


The present invention provides a composite lens system, a lens unit and an image pickup device, wherein the productivity is enhanced, while maintaining an optical performance, by achieving an axis-aligning adjustment for the composite lens system easily and appropriately. The positioning of adjacent lenses in a direction of optical axes is achieved by bringing optically non-functioning faces of the adjacent lenses into engagement with each other directly or indirectly with another member interposed therebetween. The lenses have adjusting faces which are formed thereon, so that angles formed by the lenses with respect to the optical axes are different from each other, and which are used for an axis-aligning adjustment for the lenses. The axis-aligning adjustment is achieved by an adjusting member disposed to engage both the adjusting faces of the adjacent lenses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composite lens system and a lens unit provided with such composite lens system, as well as an image pickup device provided with such lens unit, and more particularly, to a composite lens system comprising a plurality of lenses which are disposed adjacent one another in a direction of their optical axes aligned with one another by an axis-aligning adjustment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lens unit 4 including a plurality of (two in FIG. 1) lenses 1 and 2 and another optical part such as a diaphragm within a mirror tube 3, as shown in FIG. 1, has been conventionally used in an image pickup device such as an image pickup camera.
To assemble the lens unit 4 of this type, a process for press-fitting the optical parts 1 and 2 sequentially into the mirror tube 3, beginning with the optical lens 1 which is to be located deeper in the mirror tube 3, as shown in FIG. 1, is conventionally employed in some cases.
When such a process is employed, however, during press-fitting of the first optical part 1 into the mirror tube 3, a sidewall of the mirror tube 3 may be widened, and as a result, the inside diameter of the mirror tube 3 may be slightly deviated from an original design dimension.
This brings about a disadvantage that the second and subsequent optical parts 2 cannot be press-fitted into predetermined locations in the mirror tube 3 and as a result, the positional relationship between the optical parts 1 and 2 is unbalanced, thereby causing the degradation of the optical characteristics of the lens unit 4.
An engagement portion for a body of an image pickup device such as a threaded portion may be formed on an outer peripheral surface of the mirror tube 3. However, when the sidewall of the mirror tube 3 is widened by the press-fitting of the optical part 1 as described above, the outside diameter of the mirror tube 3 may be deviated from an original design dimension, whereby the size of the engagement portion may be also deviated. This causes a disadvantage that the lens unit 4 cannot be engaged appropriately with the body of the image pickup device and thus, is not available as a product.
Therefore, if a plurality of lenses are accommodated in the form of a composite lens system comprising an integral combination these lenses and as required, another optical part, instead of the lenses 1 and 2 being accommodated individually into the mirror tube 3, the above-described disadvantage can be avoided effectively.
However, if the optical parts are merely bonded together, an optical error such as a misalignment between the optical exes of the optical parts may be produced. Therefore, if the optical parts are disposed in an arrangement in which such an error can be eliminated, it is possible to form a composite lens system in which even if the performances of the individual lenses are different from each other, the error can be absorbed to exhibit an appropriate optical performance.
From such a background, various proportions have been made for a lens system in which optical axes of lenses are aligned with each other or with another optical part such as a diaphragm or with a center axis of a mirror tube by an axis-aligning adjustment.
However, the prior art is accompanied by a problem that the axis-aligning adjustment for the optical parts cannot be conducted at a stage of fabrication of a composite lens system, a lot of labor are required for the axis-aligning adjustment and thus, it is impossible to enhance the productivity of a product.
In a case of a lens system in which tapered portions of lenses are brought into abutment against each other for an axis-aligning adjustment, for example, as in a lens system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2002-196211, each of the lenses must be formed at an extremely high dimensional accuracy and hence, it is difficult to manufacture the lens system and it is impossible to enhance the productivity.
In a case of a lens system in which a plurality of optical parts are press-fitted sequentially into a mirror tube for an axis-aligning adjustment for the optical parts, as in a lens system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2002-286987, it is necessary to determine sizes of the mirror tube and the optical parts at a high accuracy, so that an appropriate press-fitting margin is ensured, on the assumption that the mirror tube is deformed by the press-fitting of the lenses, as described above. For this reason, it is likewise difficult to manufacture the lens system and it is impossible to enhance the productivity.
Further, a lens system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2001-344806 is a light pickup lens system and is different in basic arrangement from a lens for an image pickup device. Moreover, in this lens system, an axis-aligning adjustment for lenses cannot be achieved, if they are not in a unit state. Further, the positioning of the lenses in directions of optical axes cannot be conducted univocally and hence, the axis-aligning adjustment is rather complicated.
Yet further, in a case of a lens system in which an axis-aligning adjustment for lenses is conducted after press-fitting of the lenses into a mirror tube, the examination of the optical performance can be conducted only at the time of completion of the assembling of the lenses. As a result, the yield cannot be enhanced, and it is difficult to examine the cause of a failure of assembling and hence, it is further difficult to enhance the productivity.
It is an actual circumstance that there are no effective proposals conventionally made for composite lens systems in which the productivity has been enhanced, while maintaining an optical performance high.

Composite lens system, and lens unit provided with such composite lens system, as well as image pickup device provided with such lens unit


A photocurable composition for imprint at least has a polymerizable compound (A) and a photopolymerization initiator (B), in which the polymerizable compound (A) contains 20% by weight or more of a multifunctional (meth)acrylic monomer and the glass transition temperature of a photocured substance of the photocurable composition is 90° C. or more.

A demand for miniaturization in semiconductor devices, MEMS, and the like has increased. Therefore, a micromachining technique utilizing a pattern of a resist (photocurable composition for nanoimprint) which is formed on a substrate (wafer) and has a predetermined shape as a mold has recently drawn attention in addition to a former photolithographic technique. This technique is also referred to as an optical imprint (optical nanoimprint) and can form a fine structure of the order of several nanometers on a substrate (PTL 1). According to the optical imprint technique, a resist is first applied to a pattern formation region on a substrate (Arrangement step). Next, this resist is molded using a mold on which a pattern is formed (Mold contact step). Then, light is emitted to cure the resist (Light irradiation step), and then the cured resist is released (Mold release step). By carrying out these steps, the pattern of the resist cured substance (photocured film) having a predetermined shape is formed on the substrate. Furthermore, by repeating all the steps described above at other positions on the substrate, a fine structure can be formed on the entire substrate.
The photocured film having the pattern formed on the substrate by the optical imprint technique is sometimes utilized as a mask in processing a base substrate using a dry etching technique. In this case, in order to process the base substrate with a good yield, the photocured film is required to have high dry etching resistance. Moreover, in manufacturing a semiconductor device, it is required to form a circuit pattern with an accuracy of about ±10 to 12% of a desired line width.

Photocurable composition for imprint, method for producing film using the same, method for producing optical component using the same, method for producing circuit board using the same, and method for producing electronic component using the same


The present invention relates to a network connection apparatus for connecting a plurality of network terminals to an external network such as the Internet. In accordance with the present invention, there provides an easy-to-use network connection apparatus capable of building up an easy and flexible network system by providing the user with plurality types of interface. Specifically, the network connection apparatus comprises a first interface unit including at least one physical layer for connecting to an external network, a second interface unit including a plurality of physical layers for connecting to an internal network, and a controller for controlling the first interface unit and the second interface unit, wherein the second interface unit is capable of independent operation from the first interface unit, and the controller transmits and receives information between the first interface unit and second interface unit, and between the second interface units.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network connection apparatus for connecting a plurality of network terminals to an external network such as the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, along with the rapid spread of the Internet, there is a mounting need for connecting plural personal computers (PCs) at home or in small office to the Internet in batch.
FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a conventional network system, assuming a small office. Operation of the conventional network system when a PC 304a sends an electronic mail (E-mail) to outside is explained. The E-mail from the PC 304a is transmitted to the Internet 301 through a router 302. At this time, if a PC 304b attempts to access the Internet, transmission is allowed when Ethernet 303, a transmission line, is free. However, while the line is busy as being used by the PC 304a, it is required to wait until free. When it is confirmed that the line is free, access to the Internet, an external network, is started.
Herein, information is transmitted and received by the so-called CSMA/CD (carrier sense multiple access/collision detect) system.
The clients, PC304a, 304b, 304c, can access the Internet at the same time, but the transmission speed is slower than when one unit accesses.
On the other hand, at home, plural information appliances such as AV apparatus, telephone, and facsimile equipment are used independently, and they are desired to be combined into a network.
However, in particular, if attempted to centralize plural PCs at home and connect to an external network, it is difficult to connect Ethernet wiring at home, and an easier and more flexible network system is needed.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for fly height detection. The apparatus includes an actuator configured to induce vibrations in a glide head that is configured to detect physical asperities on a disk surface. The apparatus may also include a second end of the suspension arm coupled with the glide head and a sensor module that is configured to communicate with a control module in response to the glide head coming in contact with at least one physical asperity. The system includes the apparatus, a disk having a surface comprising physical asperities, and a head gimbal assembly configured to calibrate a fly height margin for the disk. The method includes inducing vibrations in a glide head, detecting physical asperities on a disk surface, and communicating with a control module in response to the glide head coming in contact with at least one physical asperity.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to physical asperity testing of disk drive systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to manners of detecting a fly height margin using controlled excitation of air bearing modes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems generally utilize auxiliary storage devices onto which data can be written and from which data can be read for later use. A direct access storage device is a common auxiliary storage device which incorporates rotating magnetic disks for storing data in magnetic form on concentric, radially spaced tracks on the disk surfaces. Transducer heads driven in a path generally perpendicular to the drive axis are used to write data to the disks and to read data from the disks.
Many aspects of development and manufacturing in the disk drive industry are involved in the effort to produce the most reliable direct access storage device possible while maintaining a reasonable price. These efforts include design, component selection, development tests, and manufacturing tests. Once produced, disks are generally submitted to a variety of manufacturing tests. For instance, a series of testing operations are typically carried out on each disk. These operations may be conducted at a common station, or the disk may be transported to different stations to perform the specified operation.
One such operation involves conditioning the disk surface. The conditioning involves abrasive objects wiping or dragging across the surface of the disk. The purpose of this operation is to remove any residue or physical asperities. A further operation is a touchdown height test. The touchdown height is the height of a flying head sensor over the surface of a disk at which the head first begins to contact asperities. The touchdown height may be measured with the use of a test head gimbal assembly (HGA) flying above the disk. In manufacturing, a fly height margin is designated and defined to be a safe operating height of above the highest asperity on the disk. To determine the fly height margin, a speed sensitive HGA is used to gauge the height of the asperities on the disk surface. The actual touchdown height of the HGA is critical for determining a fly height margin.
The disk drive industry has been engaged in an ongoing effort to increase the densities of hard disk drives. The ultrahigh densities have allowed the disk drive industry to continually miniaturize disk drives. A common problem inherent to ultrahigh densities is the fly height of the read/write head. As the density is increased, the fly height margin of the read/write head must be reduced. If the fly height margin is substantially greater than the ideal fly height, the read/write head's capability to accurately and reliably read and write data will be diminished. Thus, the fly height margin becomes an important measurement of the quality of the disk.
Glide or fly height margin testing detects the asperities and other abnormalities that are detrimental to the performance and reliability of the disk drive. Typically, a glide height calibration apparatus includes a disk, an HGA, and a calibrated asperity. The HGA is velocity sensitive, or in other terms, the fly height of the HGA is dependent on the linear velocity of the disk. Currently, in order to determine the fly height the velocity of the disk is reduced until the slider attached at the end of the HGA makes contact with the calibrated asperity.
Once the slider contacts the calibrated asperity, a small piezoelectric ceramic crystal (not shown) detects the vibration caused by the impact. When contact is made between the calibrated asperity and the slider of the HGA, the impact is translated from a vibration caused by the impact into an electrical signal by the piezoelectric ceramic. At that point the fly height is calibrated to the height of the calibrated asperity.
Several problems have arisen from calibrating the glide height in the manufacturing process. One problem associated with the glide test is the inability to measure the fly height accurately due to inadequate measurement tool accuracy and repeatability. One current process includes multiple optical fly height measurements and repeated adjustment of parts to meet the optimal fly height specification. One of the adjustments is a mechanical adjustment of the suspension of the HGA. This form of adjustment consequently can cause damage and yield fallout. Additionally, certain components can become unstable after adjustment and begin to creep back to their original mechanical state.
Other problems that current fly height tests suffer from include fly height variation due to slider wear during calibration and measurement, and instability in the surface due to lube change. Furthermore, the manufacturing time required to perform measurement and adjustment processes can be extensive, and the yield fallout due to the handling and the adjustment is costly. The resulting variation of fly height can be very large. With such a large variation, the calibration of the glide height results in significant yield fallout and adds to the uncertainty of the actual fly height.
Thus, it can be seen from the above discussion that there is a need existing in the art for an improved fly height adjustment and calibration method and apparatus.

Apparatus, system, and method for detection of fly height margin using controlled excitation of air bearing mode

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A method for exchanging upkeep-relevant information regarding a field device with a computer-supported upkeep system, which manages upkeep-relevant information regarding the field device in a database. A mobile, manually portable device is utilized, which has an interface for a wireless Internet access. According to the method, a wireless Internet access is established by the mobile, manually portable device. Subsequently, upkeep-relevant invention regarding the field device is exchanged between the computer-supported, upkeep system, which is connected to the Internet, and the mobile, manually portable device, via the Internet.

Often applied in process automation technology are field devices to serve for registering and/or influencing process variables. Thus, sensors, such as, for example, fill-level measuring devices, flow measuring devices, pressure- and temperature-measuring devices, pH-redox potential measuring devices, conductivity measuring devices, register corresponding process variables, fill-level, flow (e.g. flow rate), pressure, temperature, pH-value, and conductivity, respectively, while actuators, such as, for example, valves or pumps, serve for influencing process variables, such as, for example, changing the flow of a liquid in a section of pipeline, or the fill-level in a container.
Referred to as field devices are, in principle, all devices placed near a process for delivering or processing process-relevant information. A large number of such field devices are manufactured and sold by the firm, Endress+Hauser.
In modern industrial plants, field devices are, as a rule, connected via bus systems (Profibus®, Foundation® Fieldbus, etc.) with one or more superordinated units. Instead of a bus system, also, for example, a parallel-wire or an analog signal transmission can be provided between the field devices and the one or more superordinated units. Normally, the superordinated units are control systems, or control units, such as, for example, a PLC (programmable logic controller) or PCS (process control system). The superordinated units serve for, among other purposes, process control, process visualization, process monitoring, as well as for start-up of the field devices.
For minimizing down-time of a plant containing field devices, modern industrial plants frequently employ computer-supported, upkeep systems, which manage, in a database, upkeep-relevant information regarding the field devices and, on occasion, also other devices being used in the plant. These systems are referred to herein as "computer-supported, upkeep systems". These, as a rule, software-based, computer-supported, upkeep systems can, depending on supplier and on configuration of the plant of interest, perform various functions with reference to the management and organization of upkeep work. Especially, these computer-supported, upkeep systems can perform the procedures and functions conventionally manually performed by maintenance personnel or a management person responsible for upkeep of the plant, in order to plan upkeep work to be done and to document performed upkeep work.
A software-based, computer-supported, upkeep system of this type is known under the acronym "CMMS" (computerized maintenance management system). As a rule, at least the following functions are provided by a CMMS, with it being understood that deviations can arise in the case of particular CMMS versions offered by individual suppliers:
Creating and planning upkeep jobs for individual field devices (and, on occasion, other devices of a plant), based on device-specific upkeep intervals and data on already executed upkeep work, as well as, on occasion, additionally based on information concerning available maintenance personnel;
recording and documenting of service reports, malfunction reports, inputs regarding required replacement parts and/or of work orders regarding other upkeep work to be done;
asset management, especially managing and providing of device data, handbooks, check lists, warranty information, upkeep intervals, service contracts, information concerning purchase date, information concerning service life to be expected, replacement part information, information concerning malfunction reports of the field device and for problem handling of the same and/or information concerning parametering, calibration and/or configuration of the individual field devices (and, on occasion, other devices of a plant);
inventory management, especially management of inventory quantities and execution of queries concerning the availability of replacement parts, tools, aids and consumed materials sent to a storage location (for example, a storage location of the plant operator) or to a manufacturer;
statistical analysis, especially providing information regarding frequency of various defects or malfunctions, number of already executed upkeep jobs, maintenance costs, etc., in the case of the different field devices (and, on occasion, in the case of other devices of a plant).
Alternatively to, or in supplementation of, a CMMS, also a "PAM" (plant asset management) can be provided. In a PAM-system, as a rule, various relevant pieces of information and their time sequence are stored for the individual field devices (and, on occasion, for the other devices of a plant). Especially, documented in a PAM are device-specific data, starting from the date of manufacture right up to the current date, such as, for example, information concerning performed upkeep work, exchanged parts, etc. Besides CMMS and PAM, other software-based, computer-supported, upkeep systems exist, these being "manufacturer-specific, computer-supported, upkeep systems", by which upkeep-relevant information of one or more field devices are managed in a database. These other maintenance systems perform, as a rule, at least a part of the functions explained above in reference to CMMS and PAM.
Computer-supported, upkeep systems of such type are frequently employed in a plant-encompassing manner, in order, for example, to manage upkeep-relevant information of field devices and, on occasion, of other devices connected in a plant, for all plants of a plant operator. Frequently, the computer of the data processing installation, in which such a computer-supported, upkeep system is implemented, is arranged spatially separated from the individual field devices (and, on occasion, from further devices of the plant). Maintenance personnel performing upkeep work on-site at a field device, cannot, therefore, directly access information stored in the computer-supported, upkeep system. Additionally, the computer-supported, upkeep system cannot be directly updated by the maintenance personnel.
In order to have the information relevant for the upkeep of a field device available on-site, it has been usual, to this point in time, for the maintenance personnel or a third party to retrieve the presumably required information in advance from the computer-supported, upkeep system. For this, it has been necessary that the pertinent person visit the computer or the data processing installation, where the computer-supported, upkeep system is implemented, or, on occasion, another computer, which can access the computer-supported, upkeep system via a company network, and print out the presumably required information in paper form or transfer such information via an appropriate interface (e.g. USB, Bluetooth or infrared) onto a "PDA" ("Personal Digital Assistant"). To the extent that the computer or the data processing installation, where the computer-supported, upkeep system is implemented, is Internet connected, there is, additionally, the option that such person can download the presumably required information via the Internet in advance via a computer with stationary Internet access (e.g. via a cable modem). The downloaded information could then be saved on the computer, which is, as a rule, at the workplace of the affected person, and additionally printed out in paper form and/or transferred onto a PDA. The printouts in paper form and/or the PDA with the information saved in advance can then be taken with the maintenance personnel to the field device.
It is, however, often not possible to correctly predict in advance exactly that information which will be needed. Therefore, as a rule, more extensive information is obtained than will eventually actually be necessary. Additionally, an added time and management effort is connected with obtaining this more extensive information. Furthermore, the case can arise, in which the maintenance personnel determine, on-site, that the information brought along in the PDA and/or in paper form is not sufficient and further information must be obtained from the computer-supported, upkeep system. The required maintenance tasks can then not be performed immediately, and a new schedule must be arranged. Additionally, there is, in the case of the practice to this point in time, the danger that the most up-to-date information will not be obtained before every maintenance task to be performed, but, instead, the already present information will be used, as stored in the PDA or printed out in paper form. This can, however, already be outdated. After performing the upkeep work, relevant information, such as, for example, a service report, information regarding required replacement parts, etc. must be input into the computer or the data processing installation, where the computer-supported, upkeep system is implemented. For this, in turn, the same opportunities of access are available, which were already mentioned above in reference to the obtaining of the presumably required information. Also this subsequent inputting of data involves a considerable amount of time.

Method for exchange of upkeep-relevant information with a computer-supported, upkeep system


Disclosed herein is an image processing apparatus, including: a projection section adapted to alternately project an image for a right eye and another image for a left eye; a separation section adapted to separate a projected image of the right eye image and another projected image of the left eye image from each other; a gaze detection section adapted to detect a gaze direction of an observer to which the right eye image and the left eye image are to be given; and a luminance adjustment section adapted to set a range with respect to the gaze direction to the right eye image and the left eye image and adjust a luminance value of pixels so that a portion of the right and left eye images other than the set range exhibits an invisible state.

The present application relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method and a program, and is suitable for use with, for example, a case in which a three-dimensional image is presented.
A technique is available in which an image for the right eye and an image for the left eye having a parallax therebetween are alternately given to the eyes of the observer to present a three-dimensional image to the observer (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10-117362 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-193409). With the present technique, a person in a video image can look three-dimensionally, and therefore, the reality is enhanced.

Image processing apparatus image processing method and program using electrodes contacting a face to detect eye gaze direction