An improved active voltage positioning (AVP) implementation for a power supply for a microprocessor or the like includes an AVP circuit which is separated from the power supply error amplifier by a buffer amplifier having a parallel RC feedback circuit to controllably adjust the transient response. An AVP signal derived from an output load current sensing element provides an input to the buffer amplifier. A second input is provided by power supply reference voltage. A output of the buffer amplifier is connected as an input to the error amplifier to provide the AVP window. This permits separate adjustment of the transient behavior of the error loop and the AVP loop.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to voltage regulators, and more particularly to voltage regulators for microprocessors and other applications which impose stringent demands on power supply performance. A typical modern microprocessor requires an operating voltage below 2 volts, which is stable within a quite narrow window, and currents which can switch between 0 and 50 or more amperes at a very rapid rate, and state of the art power supplies are even required to provide currents of about 100 amperes at about 1 volt, with voltage accuracies of under 1.0 percent. Very sophisticated power supply design techniques must be employed to maintain stable voltage under such conditions.
A preferred technique for controlling the output of microprocessor power supplies is active voltage positioning (AVP), the basic concept of which is illustrated in FIG. 1. According to this, the power supply output voltage is controlled as a function of the load current within an acceptable voltage window 8 defined by maximum and minimum voltages Vmax and Vmin, respectively. If the output current required is low, as at 10, the output voltage is adjusted to near the top of the voltage window, so the voltage does not drop below Vmin when there is a step output current increase. Conversely, if the output current is high, as at 12, the voltage is adjusted to near the bottom of the voltage window, so the voltage does not rise above Vmax when the output current returns to a low level.
2. Relevant Art
Switching regulators employing pulse width modulation (PWM) are generally used as microprocessor power supplies. When AVP is employed, an integrated circuit (IC) controller with built-in AVP circuitry is provided. The main features of such a controller is illustrated in FIG. 2, generally denoted at 18. These include an error amplifier 20, a compensation network 22, a PWM generator 24, and at least one pair of high and low side transistor switches such as MOSFETS 26 and 28, which provide an output voltage Vo to a load through an inductor-capacitor circuit 30. The load is represented by a microprocessor CPU 32, but those skilled in the art will understand that this is representative of any high current low voltage load characterized by rapid current transients which require a very stable voltage from the power supply.
For control, a signal representing voltage Vo is fed back to error amplifier 20 through an input resistor 34. As will be understood skilled in the art, this signal is normally provided by a current sense element (not shown) such as shunt resistors or the drain to source resistence of the fully conductive MOSFET, Rdson, or in any other suitable manner.
A current source 36 within IC 18, which operates in response to the current feedback signal, injects a current signal into the input resistor 34 to create a voltage offset and produce AVP window 8 (See FIG. 1).
This conventional approach has two major disadvantages. First, creating an ideal AVP output voltage waveform as illustrated in FIG. 1 requires optimal settings of the gain and loop response of both the error circuit and the AVP circuit. and AVP loop response. The illustrated method does not allow the user to easily optimize both loop responses.
Secondly, input resistor 34 of error amplifier 20 is also part of the compensation network 22 which stabilizes the control loop under all operating conditions to prevent oscillation. Since the value of resistor 34 is normally set at a fixed value to establish the AVP window, this forces the user to select all of the other resistors and capacitors in compensation network 22 based on the value chosen for input resistor 34. Changing the value of resistor 34 to accommodate design changes in compensation network 22 causes the AVP window to change, thus making compensating the system cumbersome.
Accordingly, there is a need for a more flexible solution for achieving AVP in power supplies for microprocessors and the like.

Active voltage positioning implementation for microprocessor power supplies or the like


A fluorine gas discharge laser electrode for a gas discharge laser having a laser gas containing fluorine and a method for manufacturing an electrode is disclosed. The electrode may include a copper and copper alloy body having an upper curved region containing a discharge footprint and a lower portion. In one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, the upper region may include copper and the lower region may include a copper alloy. A portion of the electrode facing a gas discharge region may be formed in an arcuate shape extending into straight line portions on either side of the arcuate portion. The straight line portions may terminate in vertical straight sides.

The above referenced previously filed co-pending applications relate to various aspects of electrodes, particularly for electrode systems utilized in gas discharge lasers, and more particularly gas discharge lasers utilizing a laser gas containing fluorine, referred to as fluorine gas discharge lasers. In addition U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/243,102, fled on Sep. 13, 2002, entitled TWO CHAMBER F2 LASER SYSTEM WITH F2 PRESSURE BASED LINE SELECTION, with inventors Rylov, et al., published on Jul. 24, 2003, with Pub. No. US20030138019A1, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/210,761, filed on Jul. 31, 2002, entitled CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A TWO CHAMBER GAS DISCHARGE LASER, with inventors Fallon et al., published on Feb. 13, 2003, with Pub. No. US20030031216A1; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/187,336, filed on Jun. 28, 2002, entitled SIX TO TEN KHZ, OR GREATER GAS DISCHARGE LASER SYSTEM, with inventors Watson, et al., published on Jan. 16, 2003, Pub. No. US20030012234A1, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,132, entitled SPINODAL COPPER ALLOY ELECTRODES, issued to Morton, on Jun. 24, 2003 discuss various aspects of fluorine gas discharge lasers and electrode requirements for such lasers as well as other laser life, particularly chamber life issues surrounding the operation of such lasers.
It is well known, as the above references discuss that the environment for electrodes in a fluorine gas discharge laser is complex and severe. Increasing requirements for output laser power, resulting in, among other things, higher voltages across the electrodes, and higher total power dissipated in the discharges over electrode life, exacerbating the severity of he gas discharge laser chamber environment. The need to increase pulse repetition frequencies well above 4000 Hz, and even up to double that repetition rate during pulse bursts, equally causes problems in maintaining electrode lifetimes. The need for more pulses per burst and other well known and increasing severe demands on the gas discharge laser electrodes, particularly in fluorine gas discharge lasers has lead to and will continue to lead to demands for improvements in electrode and electrode assembly technologies. Some of which are more specifically directed to cathodes, and/or their assembly as part of the laser chamber and some more specifically to anodes and/or their particular assembly. The electrical, electromagnetic, physical and chemical influences on electrode lifetimes continually place challenges on the designs for electrodes and their interfaces with other parts of the chamber, including the gas discharge region between the electrodes themselves. The present application addresses some of the above noted concerns.

Cathodes for fluorine gas discharge lasers


A charging circuit for a bootstrap capacitance employing an integrated LDMOS transistor and including a circuital device for preventing the turning on a parasitic transistors of the integrated LDMOS structure during transients that comprises a plurality of directly biased junctions (D1, D2, . . . , Dn) connected in series between a source and a body of the LDMOS transistor structure and at least a current generator, tied to ground potential, coupled between said body and ground, has at least one switch (INT1) between said source and a first junction (D1) of said plurality of junctions and a limiting resistance (R) connected between the body and the current generator (GEN). The switch (INT1) is kept open during a charging phase of the bootstrap capacitance (Cboot) and is closed when the charge voltage (Vboot) of the bootstrap capacitance reaches a preset threshold. Moreover, the body voltage (VB) is prevented from exceeding the source voltage (VS) plus a Vbe, by controlling a discharge path (T2) with a control stage (T1, R1) in response to a drop of the voltage on the limiting resistance (R). This body voltage control circuit is enabled by a second switch (INT2) driven in phase with the first switch (INT1).

In integrated circuits comprising output stages destined to drive discrete power devices or themselves integrated on the same chip containing the drive and control circuitry, it is common to employ bootstrap capacitance so as to ensure a correct supply of the driving stage of the power device. In this type of system, it is essential to ensure the charge of the bootstrap capacitance in a very short period of time, and it is also common to use an LDMOS transistor in order to rapidly charge the bootstrap capacitance.
In the specific case of a driving circuit destined for a so-called High Side Driver (HSD), e.g., which conventionally forms a portion of a driving stage to drive a power device and which conventionally also connects to a so-called Low Side Driver (LSD) which in turn connects to ground (GND), the LDMOS should be able to charge the bootstrap capacitance when the HSD is tied to the low voltage, that is when the output of the HSD is low. By contrast, when the HSD is tied to the high voltage, that is when the HSD output is high, the LDMOS should represent a high impedance. These operating conditions must be complied with even during the high-to-low voltage phase of commutation (or viceversa) of the HSD itself regardless of possible current injections originating from charging and discharging processes of capacitances associated with the integrated structure of the LDMOS that must with stand the high voltage supply of the power device.
In order to control the intrinsic parasitic effects of an integrated LDMOS structure, it is a well known practice to realize the integrated structure represented by the circuit shown in FIG. 1. Typically, the driving voltage VG for the gate of the integrated LDMOS is obtained from the VS source voltage by means of a charging pump.
As a matter of example, the driving stage refers to an HSD that is driven in a turn-on or turn-off mode by a certain control signal IN. The HSD output is also connected to an LSD which, in turn, is connected to GND as understood by those skilled in the art. The HSD supply, when referred to high voltage (Vhv), is assured by the bootstrap capacitance Cboot which is connected to a load (LOAD) as illustrated and as understood by those skilled in the art. Moreover, during this phase, the bootstrap capacitance Cboot loses the electric charge necessary to the charging and consumption of the HSD.
During the phase where the output (OUT) of the HSD is low, the charging transistor LDMOS is turned on so as to restore the electric charge absorbed from the bootstrap capacitance Cboot in the preceding phase.
The n diodes (or forward biased diodes) have the specific function of impeding the turning-on of the parasitic PNP during the dynamic operation of the circuit. As a matter of fact, if the structure is dimensioned in such a way that Vboot>VS=(n+1)Vbe, the parasitic transistor PNP can not turn on.
When turning on the circuit, and before commuting the HSD output, it is necessary to charge the initially uncharged bootstrap capacitance Cboot.
Referring back to the circuital scheme of FIG. 1, it can be noticed that when VS>nVbe, the body node of the LDMOS transistor is at a voltage that satisfies the condition VB=VS-nVbe. If the voltage VS of the source node continues to rise faster than the voltage Vboot of the charging bootstrap capacitance, the parasitic PNP of the LDMOS integrated structure turns on, driving all or part of the current toward the integrated circuit substrate rather than in the Cboot capacitance. This implies the risk of not achieving the charging of the bootstrap capacitance or in any case to obtain this in an excessively long period of time with a considerable waste of energy via the substrate.
Additional and more serious inconveniences may occur during the HSD commutation with this known type of circuit. This is due to the presence of a parasitic NPN associated with the integrated structure of the LDMOS.
If we consider the presence of the junction capacitance Cbd between the body and the drain as shown in FIG. 2, during the voltage rising front of the drain node of the LDMOS transistor, a current injection in the body occurs through the Cbd capacitance of the body-drain junction.
If due to such a current injection the body potential VB rises above the value: VS+Vbe, by considering the design condition whereby: EQU Vboot>VS-(n+1)Vbe (1)
the source-body junction is directly biased thus turning on the parasitic NPN transistor with the consequent destruction of the integrated component due to an extremely high power dissipation. This failure mechanism is very likely to occur since the body represents a high impedance node.

Charging of a bootstrap capacitance through an LDMOS


A compact microscope including an enclosure, a support element, a primary optical support element located within the enclosure and supported by the support element, at least one vibration isolating mount between the support element and the primary optical support element, a sample stage supported on the primary optical support element to support a sample, a return optical system to receive returned light from a sample and transmit returned light to a detection apparatus, wherein the return optical system is mounted on the primary optical support element, and wherein the compact microscope include a at least one of the following elements; a) an objective lens system, b) a temperature-control system, and c) the return optical system being operable to separate returned light into at least a first wavelength band and a second wavelength band.

Optical microscopy and spectroscopy includes a large number of techniques and applications. Example techniques include differential interference contrast, phase contrast and dark field microscopy, absorption microscopy, coherent interferometric microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and microscopy, and fluorescence based techniques, such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectroscopy, fluorescence life-time imaging, fluorescence polarization and anisotropy microscopy, multi-colour, alternating-laser excitation microscopy, single-particle localization and structured illumination based super-resolution microscopy.
For many applications, the microscope system must be extremely stable, protected from vibration and other external influences, precisely aligned and controlled, able to detect extremely weak signals, and safe to operate. Commercially available systems and bespoke microscopy systems for specific applications can be expensive and have large dimensions and weight. They are not portable and require substantial infrastructure, maintenance costs, operator training and custom software. Existing systems therefore incur a substantial total cost of ownership.


This disclosure provides an integrated circuit device that includes a RDL that is interlocked with a bump (or “pillar”). The interlocked interface provides the contact RDL-bump interface with increased structural stability that can better withstand the thermal stresses associated with high performance devices IC devices. The interlock structure mitigates crack/delamination that occurs at the RDL-bump interface in large IC chips that are generally subjected to higher stresses during operation.

Flip-chips are frequently used in high-density packaging for high-end IC devices. Flip-chip technology greatly shortens the length of the signal interconnection, reduces the delay, and effectively improves the performance, which is important for high-speed design, and because of the use of planar array connection, flip-chip interconnections can also provide higher I/O density. Redistribution layers (RDL) are implemented in such technologies for chip pin redistribution. With RDL, chip pins can be rearranged to any reasonable position on the chip. Using RDL technology, the die pads located in the chip periphery to support traditional wire bond technology can be reassigned to the "redistribution pins" of the chip anywhere on the surface. However, crack/delamination at the RDL/bump interface is one of the failure modes leading to reliability failure of the flip-chip integrated circuit (IC) chips. One cause of this problem is thermal expansion mismatch that induces sheer stress between bump materials and the top interconnect material of the chip. Under thermal stresses in the field, the crack/delamination at the interface develops over time along the interface between the bump and the RDL on the chip, resulting in reduced remaining contact area, hence increased resistance, which can result in failure of the IC chip.

Interlocked redistribution layer interface for flip-chip integrated circuits


An active suction cup includes a vacuum chamber provided with at least one opening with an elastic rim adapted to be applied against a surface sealingly closing the chamber vacuum, and air extraction means from inside the chamber, adapted to extract the air from inside the chamber to reduce the pressure inside the chamber so that the suction cup remains adhered to the surface. The suction cup is characterized in that the air extraction means are arranged inside the vacuum chamber and connected to a conduit that opens outside the chamber, the suction cup also comprising a pressure sensor inside the chamber to detect the pressure inside the chamber. The pressure sensor is connected to control means adapted to actuate the air extraction means if the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is greater than a predetermined maximum pressure threshold.

Currently there are a multitude of display stands, both for advertising and for home, capable of holding a wide variety of objects. These display stands are often unattractive and do not attract the consumer's attention with regard to the product, since they merely use the ceiling or floor as a gripping point. The configuration and mounting system of the displays are complicated, uncomfortable and require some type of installation, which limits, hinders and makes installation difficult and expensive.
Patent application P200800509 discloses a modular display device with suction cup fastening system, composed of several parts that fit together, specially designed for use inside homes and commercial premises, intended to hold a display tray for displaying all kind of objects. The device comprises several detachable pieces that fit together. Each piece consists of a system of attachment to the smooth surface, such as glass or similar, through at least one suction cup, with an arm articulated from the lower part of the mechanism, the arm being provided with a hole in its upper part for attachment of another piece by means of a flap, and where the upper part of said other piece consists of a clamp intended to attach the display tray. This clamp of the piece has the lower side longer than the upper side, such that it confers greater rigidity to the structure, and prevents the slipping of the display tray thanks to an anti-slip fastening means provided on the lower part of said clamp. To fix the suction cup to the smooth surface, the arm, once folded, rotates with respect to the central point of the suction cup up to 90 degrees, creating a vacuum, and in such a way that, to eject the suction cup, the arm is rotated in the opposite direction.
Application WO2018185527 discloses a suction cup holding system controlled by a vacuum generator circuit intended for holding objects and adhering on any smooth surface, and comprising: a contact surface (1) including a suction cup connected to a vacuum chamber (3) by means of elastomers (2); at least two motors (9, 10) connected to said vacuum chamber by means of flexible feeding tubes (5). With this system, a display is formed using the vacuum circuit (10) assembled in a housing (20) with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, wherein the longest side of said housing (20) is used as a contact surface (1) including a suction cup, which is associated with the vacuum circuit.
The problem with this type of exhibitors is that the suction cup is fixed by mechanical means and it loses fixation with the surface over time, due to vacuum leakage from the suction cup. Besides, the weight that the exhibitor tray can support is not big enough to keep objects with weights over 2 Kg for a long time.
Another problem is that the shape of the vacuum chamber does not allow sufficient grip on the surface to which the suction cup is adhered.
Furthermore, according to WO2018185527, all the vacuum generating elements are outside the vacuum chamber, except for the pressure sensor. As a result the final device is not compact and is bulkier than the suction cup of the present invention.
Active suction cups are also known which are provided with vacuum generating circuits and a vacuum chamber, from which they draw air to promote attachment of the suction cup to a surface. Moreover, vacuum generator circuits formed by motors and pumps generate noise during operation, that can be annoying. To reduce the noise it is possible to use silencers, but these further increase the complexity and size of the suction cup.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a compact active suction cup, capable of housing the vacuum generating components in a smaller volume than the one in the known devices, silent and allowing to be safely adhered to a surface to support objects.
Thanks to the electromechanical system that generates vacuum, a more compact and silent suction cup is obtained than the known devices, which maintains and guarantees its adherence on smooth surfaces.
Additionally, the degree of vacuum that can be generated by the electromechanical circuit of the suction cup of the present invention is higher than the one obtained with suction cups of the same size, wherein the vacuum is mechanically generated, therefore, the weight that can be supported by this system is greater than its mechanical equivalent.


A slant plate type compressor with a capacity or displacement adjusting mechanism is disclosed. The compressor includes a housing having a cylinder block provided with a plurality of cylinders and a crank chamber. A piston is slidably fitted within each of the cylinders and is reciprocated by a drive mechanism which includes a member having a surface with an adjustable incline angle. The incline angle is controlled by the pressure situation in the crank chamber. The pressure in the crank chamber is controlled by a control mechanism which comprises a passageway communicating between the crank chamber and a suction chamber and a valve device to control the closing and opening of the passageway. The valve device includes a valve element which directly controls the closing and opening of the passageway. The valve device further includes a first bellows and a second bellows. The second bellows receives the discharge chamber pressure without an intrusion of the discharge chamber pressure into the passageway, and is coupled to the first bellows to apply a force to the first bellows and thereby shift a control point of the first bellows in response to changes in the discharge chamber pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerant compressor, and more particularly, to a slant plate type compressor, such as a wobble plate type compressor with a variable displacement mechanism suitable for use in an automotive air conditioning system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wobble plate type refrigerant compressor with a variable displacement mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 1 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,367 to Terauchi. For purposes of explanation only, the left side of the Figure will be referenced as the forward end or front end and the right side of the Figure will be referenced as the rearward end.
Compressor 10 includes cylindrical housing assembly 20 including cylinder block 21, front end plate 23 at one end of cylinder block 21, crank chamber 22 formed between cylinder block 21 and front end plate 23, and rear end plate 24 attached to the other end of cylinder block 21. Front end plate 23 is mounted on cylinder block 21 forward of crank chamber 22 by a plurality of bolts 101. Rear end plate 24 is mounted on cylinder block 21 at its opposite end by a plurality of bolts 102. Valve plate 25 is located between rear end plate 24 and cylinder block 21. Opening 231 is centrally formed in front end plate 23 for supporting drive shaft 26. Drive shaft 26 is supported by bearing 30 disposed in opening 231. The inner end portion of drive shaft 26 is rotatably supported by bearing 31 disposed within central bore 210 of cylinder block 21. Bore 210 extends to a rearward end surface of cylinder block 21 and has disposed within it valve control mechanism 19 which is discussed below.
Cam rotor 40 is fixed on drive shaft 26 by pin member 261 and rotates with drive shaft 26. Thrust needle bearing 32 is disposed between the inner end surface of front end plate 23 and the adjacent axial end surface of cam rotor 40. Cam rotor 40 includes arm 41 having pin member 42 extending therefrom. Slant plate 50 is adjacent cam rotor 40 and includes opening 53 through which passes drive shaft 26. Slant plate 50 includes arm 51 having slot 52. Cam rotor 40 and slant plate 50 are connected by pin member 42, which is inserted in slot 52 to create a hinged joint. Pin member 42 is slidable within slot 52 to allow adjustment of the angular position of slant plate 50 with respect to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of drive shaft 26.
Wobble plate 60 is rotatably mounted on slant plate 50 through bearings 61 and 62. Fork shaped slider 63 is attached to the outer peripheral end of wobble plate 60 and is slidably mounted on sliding rail 64. Sliding rail 64 is held between front end plate 23 and cylinder block 21. Fork shaped slider 63 prevents rotation of wobble plate 60 and, thus, wobble plate 60 nutates along rail 64 when cam rotor 40 rotates. Cylinder block 21 includes a plurality of peripherally located cylinder chambers 70 in which pistons 71 reciprocate. Each piston 71 is connected to wobble plate 60 by a corresponding connecting rod 72.
Rear end plate 24 includes peripherally located annular suction chamber 241 and centrally located discharge chamber 251. Valve plate 25 is located between cylinder block 21 and rear end plate 24 and includes a plurality of valved suction ports 242 linking suction chamber 241 with respective cylinders 70. Valve plate 25 also includes a plurality of valved discharge ports 252 linking discharge chamber 251 with respective cylinders 70. Suction ports 242 and discharge ports 252 are provided with suitable reed valves as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,029 to Shimizu.
Suction chamber 241 includes inlet portion 241a which is connected to an evaporator of the external cooling circuit (not shown). Discharge chamber 251 is provided with outlet portion 251a which is connected to a condenser of the cooling circuit (not shown). Gaskets 27 and 28 are located between cylinder block 21 and the front surface of valve plate 25, and between the rear surface of valve plate 25 and rear end plate 24, respectively. Gaskets 27 and 28 seal the mating surfaces of cylinder block 21, valve plate 25 and rear end plate 24.
With further reference to FIG. 2, valve control mechanism 19 includes cup-shaped casing member 191 defining valve chamber 192 therewithin. O-ring 19a is disposed between an outer surface of casing member 191 and an inner surface of bore 210 to seal the mating surfaces of casing member 191 and cylinder block 21. A plurality of holes 19a are formed in the closed end (to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2) of casing member 191 to let crank chamber pressure into valve chamber 192 through a gap 31a existing between bearing 31 and cylinder block 21. Bellows 193 is disposed in valve chamber 192 to longitudinally contract and expand in response to crank chamber pressure. Projection member 193b is attached at a forward end of bellows 193 and is secured to axial projection 19c formed at a center of the closed end of casing member 191. Valve member 193a is attached at a rearward end of bellows 193.
Cylinder member 194, including valve seat 194a, penetrates a center of valve plate assembly 200. Valve plate assembly 200 includes valve plate 25, gaskets 27 and 28, suction reed valve 271 and discharge reed valve 281. Valve seat 194a is formed at a forward end of cylinder member 194 and is secured to an opened end of casing member 191. Nuts 100 are screwed on cylinder member 194 from a rearward end of cylinder member 194 located in discharge chamber 251 to fix cylinder member 194 to valve plate assembly 200 and valve retainer 253. Conical shaped opening 194b, which receives valve member 193a, is formed at valve seat 194a and is linked to cylindrical bore 194c axially formed in cylinder member 194. Consequently, annular ridge 194d is formed at a location which is the boundary between conical shaped opening 194b and cylindrical bore 194c. Actuating rod 195 is slidably disposed within cylindrical bore 194c, slightly projects from the rearward end of cylindrical bore 194c, and is linked to valve member 193a through bias spring 196. Bias spring 196 smoothly transmits the force from actuating rod 195 to valve member 193a of bellows 193. Actuating rod 195 includes annular flange 195a which is integral with and radially extends from an outer surface of a front end portion of actuating rod 195. Annular flange 195a is located in conical shaped opening 194b, and prevents excessive rearward movement of actuating rod 195 by coming into contact with annular ridge 194d. O-ring 197 is compressedly mounted about actuating rod 195 to seal the mating surfaces of cylindrical bore 194c and actuating rod 195, thereby preventing the intrusion of the refrigerant gas from discharge chamber 251 into conical shaped opening 194b via the gap created between cylindrical bore 194c and rod 195.
Radial hole 151 is formed at valve seat 194a to link conical shaped opening 194b to one end opening of conduit 152 formed in cylinder block 21. Conduit 152 includes cavity 152a and also is linked to suction chamber 242 through hole 153 formed in valve plate assembly 200. Passageway 150, which provides communication between crank chamber 22 and suction chamber 241, is formed by uniting gap 31a, bore 210, holes 19b, valve chamber 192, conical shaped opening 194b, radial hole 151, conduit 152 and hole 153.
As a result, the opening and closing of passageway 150 is controlled by the contracting and expanding of bellows 193 in response to crank chamber pressure.
During the operation of compressor 10, drive shaft 26 is rotated by the engine of the vehicle through electromagnetic clutch 300. Cam rotor 40 is rotated with drive shaft 26. Thus, slant plate 50 is also rotated, which causes wobble plate 60 to nutate. Nutational motion of wobble plate 60 reciprocates pistons 71 in their respective cylinders 70. As pistons 71 are reciprocated, refrigerant gas which is introduced into suction chamber 241 through inlet portion 241a, flows into each chamber 70 through suction ports 242 and is then compressed. The compressed refrigerant gas is discharged into discharge chamber 251 from each cylinder 70 through discharge ports 252, and therefrom flows into the cooling circuit through outlet portion 251a.
The capacity of compressor 10 is adjusted to maintain a constant pressure in suction chamber 241 in response to a change in the heat load on the evaporator or a change in the rotating speed of the compressor. The capacity of the compressor is adjusted by changing the angle of the slant plate which is dependent upon the pressure in the crank chamber relative to the pressure in the suction chamber. An increase in crank chamber pressure relative to the suction chamber pressure decreases the slant angle of the slant plate and the wobble plate, thus decreasing the capacity of the compressor. A decrease in the crank chamber pressure relative to the suction chamber pressure increases the angle of the slant plate and the wobble plate and, thus, increases the capacity of the compressor.
The purpose of valve control mechanism 19 of the prior art compressor is to maintain a constant pressure at the outlet of the evaporator during capacity control of the compressor. Valve control mechanism 19 operates in the following manner. Actuating rod 195 pushes valve member 193a in the direction to contract bellows 193 through bias spring 196. Actuating rod 195 is moved in response to receiving pressure in discharge chamber 251. Accordingly, increasing pressure in discharge chamber 251 further moves rod 195 toward bellows 193, thereby increasing the tendency of bellows 193 to contract. As a result, the compressor control point for displacement change is shifted to maintain a constant pressure at the evaporator outlet portion. That is, the valve control mechanism 19 makes use of the fact that the discharge pressure of the compressor is roughly directly proportional to the suction flow rate. Since actuating rod 195 moves in direct response to changes in discharge pressure and applies a force directly to the bellows 193 (the controlling valve element), the control point at which bellows 193 operates is shifted in a very direct and responsive manner by changes in discharge pressure.
In the construction of valve control mechanism 19 of the prior art compressor, O-ring 197 is compressedly mounted about actuating rod 195. Therefore, rod 195 frictionally slides through O-ring 197 in the operation of valve control mechanism 19. This causes the sliding movement of rod 195 within cylindrical bore 194c to be affected by frictional forces between O-ring 197 and rod 195, thereby producing a relationship between the suction chamber pressure and the discharge chamber pressure as illustrated in FIG. 8.
With reference to FIG. 8, line l.sub.0 shows the relationship between the suction chamber pressure and the discharge chamber pressure in an ideal condition (i.e., rod 195 slides within cylinder 194c with no sliding friction). Line l.sub.1 shows the relationship between the suction chamber pressure and the discharge chamber pressure in a discharge chamber pressure increasing stage. Line l.sub.2 shows the relationship between the suction chamber pressure and the discharge chamber pressure in a discharge chamber pressure decreasing stage. Line l.sub.1 is parallel to line l.sub.0 by the horizontal distance of .DELTA.P.sub.d1 along the abscissa, and line l.sub.2 is parallel to line l.sub.0 by the horizontal distance of .DELTA.P.sub.d2 along the abscissa. Distance .DELTA.P.sub.d1 is equal to distance .DELTA.P.sub.d2.
In the discharge chamber pressure increasing stage, the discharge chamber pressure will be increased from the discharge chamber pressure in the ideal condition by .DELTA.P.sub.d1 in order to compensate for the sliding friction force generated between rod 195 and O-ring 197. The increased increment .DELTA.P.sub.d1 is necessary to locate rod 195 in the same position that rod 195 would be in the ideal condition, to thereby obtain the same suction chamber pressure as in the ideal condition. In other words, in order to obtain suction chamber pressure P.sub.s0, the discharge chamber pressure is required to be P.sub.d1. However, in the ideal condition, discharge chamber pressure P.sub.d1 obtains suction chamber pressure P.sub.s1.
On the other hand, in the discharge chamber pressure decreasing stage, the discharge chamber pressure will be decreased from the discharge chamber pressure in the ideal condition by .DELTA.P.sub.d2 in order to compensate for the sliding friction force generated between rod 195 and O-ring 197. The decreased increment .DELTA.P.sub.d2 is necessary to locate rod 195 in the same position that rod 195 would be in the ideal condition, to thereby obtain the same suction chamber pressure as in the ideal condition. In other words, in order to obtain suction chamber pressure P.sub.s0, the discharge chamber pressure is required to be P.sub.d2. However, in the ideal condition, discharge chamber pressure P.sub.d2 obtains suction chamber pressure P.sub.s2.
As described above, in both the discharge chamber pressure increasing and decreasing stages, the suction chamber pressure in the ideal condition is obtained at a certain discharge chamber pressure, the value of which is different than the value of the discharge chamber pressure in the ideal condition. As a result, the valve control mechanism according to the prior art compressor does not compensate with as high a degree of sensitivity as it could for the increase in pressure at the evaporator outlet when the capacity of the compressor is adjusted, in order to maintain a constant evaporator outlet pressure.

Slant plate type compressor with variable displacement mechanism


Embodiments of the present disclosure describe methods, apparatuses, and systems for phase-lock loop (PLL) configuration and realization to provide various reference clock frequencies to computing core(s) and processor(s), and other benefits. A post digitally-controlled oscillator (DCO) divider (PDIV) of the PLL may be configured with a dedicated PDIV threshold value corresponding to a dedicated target reference frequency.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in the present disclosure and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
High performance computing devices often need abilities to increase their base clock to increase corresponding computing power. For example, a base clock for a computing device, also referred to as a reference clock, may be overclocked to operate at a higher frequency to increase computing power of the device. This is particularly demanded while operating certain performance tests of the computing device. However, reference clock overclocking may cause a phase-lock loop (PLL) and/or other associated components to operate outside the operational frequency range of the PLL, and/or encounter other disadvantaged conditions. Thus, a reliable clock frequency may not be produced while overclocking.

Techniques in phase-lock loop configuration in a computing device


A semiconductor device having a super junction structure includes a substrate, an epitaxial layer of a first conductivity type, a first trench, a first doped region of a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type, a second trench and a second doped region of the first conductivity type. The epitaxial layer of the first conductivity type is over the substrate. The first trench is in the epitaxial layer. The first doped region of the second conductivity type is in the epitaxial layer and surrounds the first trench. The second trench is in the epitaxial layer and separated from the first trench. The second doped region of the first conductivity type is in the epitaxial layer and surrounds the second trench. The second doped region has a dopant concentration greater than a dopant concentration of the epitaxial layer. A method for manufacturing the semiconductor device is also provided.

A super junction MOSFET is more attractive than a normal MOSFET for features like higher breakdown voltage and lower Rds (i.e., drain-to-source resistance). The super junction MOSFET includes p-type columns and n-type columns alternately arranged in parallel and onto a heavily doped substrate.
The p-type and n-type columns are fabricated by multi-epi process and doping processes using masks, which however results in poor uniformity, long process time and high cost.

Semiconductor device having super junction structure and method for manufacturing the same

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


In an alternating current discharge type plasma display panel (PDP) a plurality of parallel barrier walls are formed on a top surface of a back substrate of the PDP and barrier walls are disposed corresponding to cross-points of X electrodes and Y electrodes on a front substrate of the PDP. A structure includes a plurality of discharge cells between the adjacent barrier walls having smaller width corresponding to the X and Y electrodes for forming a large first space, a plurality of non-discharge cells each between the adjacent discharge cells for forming a small second space served as a gas channel between the adjacent discharge cells, and a junction between one discharge cell and the adjacent non-discharge cell, such that energy released from a gas discharge in the discharge cells is concentrated within the discharge cells for increasing discharge efficiency.

The present invention relates to plasma display panels (PDPs) and more particularly to a structure of discharge cells between barrier walls of alternating current discharge type PDPs with improved characteristics.
A manufacturing process of a conventional alternating current discharge type plasma display panel (PDP) 10 is shown in FIG. 1. First, two different activation layers are formed on glass substrates 11 and 12 respectively. Then the peripheries of substrates are sealed. A mixed gas consisting of helium (He), neon (Ne), and xenon (Xe) (or argon (Ar)) having a predetermined mixing volume ratio is stored in a discharge space therein. A front substrate 11 is defined as one that faces viewers. A plurality of parallel transparent electrodes 111, a plurality of bus electrodes 112, a dielectric layer 13, and a protective layer 14 are formed from the front substrate 11 inwardly. Correspondingly, from rear substrate 12 inwardly, a plurality of parallel data electrodes 121, a dielectric layer 124, a plurality of parallel spacer walls 122, and a uniform phosphor layer 123 are formed. When a voltage is applied on electrodes 111, 112, and 121, dielectric layers 113 and 124 will discharge to discharge cell 13 formed by adjacent barrier walls 122. As a result, a ray having a desired color is emitted from phosphor layer 123.
Conventionally, in PDP 10, a plurality of parallel transparent electrodes 111 are formed on an inner surface of front substrate 11 by sputtering and photolithography. (or printing). Then a plurality of bus electrodes 112 are formed on the transparent electrodes 111 by plating (or sputtering) and photolithography. The line impedance of the transparent electrodes 111 may be reduced by the provision of bus electrodes 112. In the following description, two adjacent transparent electrodes 111 (including bus electrodes 112) on the front substrate 11 are represented by an X electrode and a Y electrode respectively. A triple electrode is formed by the X electrode, Y electrode and corresponding data electrode 121 on the rear substrate 12. When a voltage is applied on the triple electrode, dielectric layers 113 and 124 will discharge to discharge cell 13 formed by adjacent spacer walls 122. Hence, UV rays are emitted from the mixed gas stored therein. And in turn, phosphor layer 123 in discharge cell 13 is excited by the UV rays. As an end, visible light is generated by the red, green and blue phosphor layers, resulting in appearance of an image.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of parallel barrier walls 122 are provided on back substrate 12. A plurality of parallel data electrodes 121 are provided on the underside of dielectric layer 124. Barrier walls 122 and data electrodes 121 alternate, with barrier walls 122 being positioned between data electrodes 121. A discharge cell 13 is formed between two adjacent barrier walls 122. A phosphor layer 123 is coated on discharge cell 13, opposite walls of barrier wall 122, and dielectric layer 124 respectively. However, several drawbacks have been found as detailed below
(a) The coating area of phosphor layer 123 is small: In view of back substrate 12, phosphor layer 123 is only allowed to be coated on discharge cell 13, opposite-walls of barrier wall 122, and dielectric layer 124 respectively. This may lower the emissivity of PDP 10.
(b) Discharge area is small: Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a sectional view of adjacent discharge cells 13 with a suitable distance D formed therebetween in the conventional alternating current type PDP 10. Such distance D is provided for avoiding an undesired discharge. However, the provision of distance D may narrow the discharge cells 13 (i.e., opening too narrow), resulting in a lowering of emissivity. To the contrary, a small nondischarge cell may provide a large discharge space for obtaining an increased emissivity. However, this may also tend to cause undesired discharge which in turn has an adverse effect on the adjacent discharge cell.
(c) Subject to undesired discharge: Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown two adjacent discharge regions A and a sandwiched non-discharge region B in the conventional alternating current type PDP 10. It is seen that there is no barrier between two adjacent discharge regions A. Hence, it is subject to undesired discharge in non-discharge region B.
(d) Additional processing required: Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown two adjacent discharge regions A, a sandwiched non-discharge region B, and a hatched region C. The hatched region C is where additional processing on non-discharge region is performed for blocking light emitted from non-discharge region B, thereby obtaining a strong contrast of the image shown on PDP 10.
A number of proposals regarding the structure of the barrier wall have been submitted by PDP designers and manufacturers for solving the above drawbacks. For example, Pioneer Company (Japan) discloses a waffle-like barrier wall 622 as shown in FIG. 6. The phosphor layer is respectively coated on the top, bottom, left, right, and 20 underside of the discharge cell. Hence, the coating area of the phosphor layers is increased, resulting in an increase in emissivity. Also, the discharge cell is enclosed for eliminating undesired discharge in their non-discharge region. However, such enclosed discharge cell may increase difficulty of vacuum and gas filling. Another design is disclosed by Fujitsu Company (Japan) wherein barrier wall 722 has a meander rib structure as shown in FIG. 7. Such structure can increase the coating area to a maximum. However, this design suffers from several disadvantages. For example, phosphor layer printing is difficult in the process. As a result, colors tend to mix. Further, uniformity of phosphor layer printing is not obtainable. This in turn increases manufacturing cost and difficulty. Even worse, the yield is lowered. Moreover, a back substrate manufactured by such technique does not conform to the conventional front substrate. Hence, a specifically designed front substrate is required. As to drive technique, conventional drive techniques are not applicable if a complex drive technique such as ALIS is not adopted in conjunction therewith. In brief, despite achieving a maximum coating area the design proposed by Fujitsu Company is still disadvantageous due to problems associated with manufacturing process and drive technique.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide, in an alternating current discharge type plasma display panel (PDP), a plurality of parallel barrier walls formed on the top surface of a back substrate of the PDP, the barrier walls being disposed corresponding to cross-points of X electrodes and Y electrodes on a front substrate of the PDP. The structure comprising the plurality of discharge cells between the adjacent barrier walls has a smaller width corresponding to the X and Y electrodes for forming a large first space, a plurality of non-discharge cells each between the adjacent discharge cells forming a small second space that serves as a gas channel between the adjacent discharge cells, and a junction having a predetermined shape between one discharge cell and the adjacent non-discharge cell, so that energy released from a gas is discharge in the discharge cells is concentrated within the discharge cells for increasing discharge efficiency, and emissivity, for avoiding undesired gas discharge, and for achieving a smooth vacuum and gas filling during the manufacturing process of PDP.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

Discharge cells between barrier walls of alternating current discharge type plasma display panel


Upon depression of a shutter key of a key input unit, a sensed image (DATA1) is captured by exposing a CCD for exposure time T1 with a mechanical shutter opened, and a dark frame image (DATA2) is captured by exposing the CCD for exposure time Ta with the mechanical shutter closed. A correction value corresponding to exposure time T1 is then determined by looking up a correction data table stored in a storage area of a data memory, and DATA2 is corrected using the determined correction value. By subtracting the corrected DATA2 from DATA1, a dark output component contained in DATA1 is removed.

The present invention relates to an electronic still camera and its signal processing method and, more particularly, to an electronic still camera which removes dark output components resulting from an image sensing element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or the like, and its signal processing method.
In recent years, electronic still cameras have rapidly prevailed. Such electronic still camera generates a still image of an object using an image sensing element such as a CCD or the like, and electronically records the generated image in a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory or the like.
An image sensing element such as a CCD or the like which is used in such electronic still camera has so-called dark output (dark voltage) characteristics; it produces an output even when incoming light is shielded, thus producing a very weak current called a dark current.
The dark voltage in the CCD becomes a noise component, and consequently adversely influences image data, thus deteriorating image quality.
As one method of solving this problem, when image sensing is instructed by shutter operation, it is done twice at an identical shutter speed (identical exposure time) with a mechanical shutter opened and closed and, after that, second image data (image data consisting of only dark output components) obtained by image sensing with the mechanical shutter closed is subtracted from first image data (object image data containing dark output components) obtained by image sensing with the mechanical shutter opened, thus removing the noise components from the first image data as sensed image data.
With this method, image quality can be prevented from deteriorating, and high-quality image data can be obtained.
Since the dark voltage (dark output components) in the CCD has temperature dependence (the dark voltage roughly doubles upon a change (increase) in ambient temperature of around 8° C.), and exposure time (charge accumulation period) dependence (the dark current tends to increase as the exposure time becomes longer), two image sensing operations are done at substantially the same timings (the same temperature) and the same exposure time to equalize the levels of the dark output components contained in the first image data and the second image data (dark output components).
However, such method can prevent image quality from deteriorating and can obtain high-quality image data, but requires two image sensing operations upon instruction of image sensing. For this reason, the time required for image sensing doubles if no other conditions are considered, and disturbs continuous image sensing.
This problem becomes more serious when image sensing must be done in a dark place, since a long exposure time must be assured.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic still camera which can obtain high-quality image data while preventing deterioration of image quality, and can shorten the time required for image sensing, and its signal processing method.

Electronic still camera capable of removing noise component in image data and signal processing method thereof


A focusable flashlight comprising of enlarged head and tail section designed to have substantially the same diameter as a means to facilitate solid and secure gripping and to facilitate rapid, secure stowage of the invention during highly stressful environments, such as combat, law enforcement, night watch, home guard, underwater diving and other situations where the user of a flashlight requires a high level of situational awareness and while in need of operating a flashlight with one hand without distraction. An optional lanyard and holster are designed to work with the flashlight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a flashlight that is designed for secure, easy use and stowage, especially under stressful conditions (for example, in combat or while SCUBA diving) during which the user of the flashlight requires a high level of situational awareness and must be able to hold a flashlight securely and efficiently without diverting much attention to its operation.
The invention further relates a flashlight having an enlarged tail section, a similarly enlarged head, and a high-friction surface, such that the flashlight is easily and securely held and operated with one hand without distraction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowhere in the prior art is described a combat-oriented, focusable flashlight with the enlarged head and enlarged tail section of the present invention.
Matthews, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,932 claims a flashlight and method of use, the flashlight geared to combat, law enforcement, and similar stressful situations. The flashlight claims a tail-end switch that extends from the tail section. It claims a central tubular section holding the batteries ("battery barrel") that has a reduced-diameter portion and a retention shoulder spaced from the tail section. It claims an adjustable elastomeric ring around the reduced portion, said ring held in place by the retention shoulder, and said ring allowing for easy grasp and use with two adjacent fingers of the user's hand, as with a hypodermic syringe.
Unlike the Matthews patent, the present invention does not claim a flashlight body with a reduced-diameter portion of the battery barrel, but a body diameter that stays the same from head to tail. This uniform body diameter allows for increased body strength, and allows for simplification of any mechanism design to grip the flashlight body in order to attach it, for example, to a firearm, both being benefits over the prior art.
In addition, Matthews claims that the position of its separate "retention element" is adjustable by removable spacer elements. Such adjustability, with or without spacer elements, is not part of this invention, nor is it necessary.
Unlike prior flashlights, which often emphasize a separate retention element such as an elastomeric ring projecting from a portion of the flashlight, the present invention does not possess an external elastomeric ring, because the enlarged tail section eliminates the need for such a separate element. Furthermore, unlike soft and moveable ring elements, the enlarged tail section of the present invention provides a rigid, immovable element that prevents slippage of the hand gripping the flashlight.
Cheng et.al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,236 describes a flashlight with a rotatable ring, which can turn the flashlight on and off, and also focus the flashlight, when said ring is rotated or turned.
This present invention differs from Cheng in that the internal focus ring is not mechanically linked to the flashlight's on and off switch. Furthermore, unlike the prior art, the present invention's internal focus ring is specifically designed to be impossible to move once the flashlight's component parts are assembled.
Chin-Hsiang in U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,575 depicts a flashlight that can be turned on and focused by rotating the head. Unlike Chin-Hsiang, the present invention has a push button tail-end switch to turn on the flashlight. Furthermore, unlike Chin-Hsiang, the light beam of the present invention is adjusted by taking off the flashlight head and turning the internal focus ring so as to position the bulb either towards or away from the focal point of the reflector in order to produce either a broad or narrow beam.


A method of defining a configuration of hardware resources, using a subgraph isomorphism process. The method executes a subgraph isomorphism process to discover possible resources in a hardware resource space that are suitable to implement a function. The hardware resource space may be defined by a target graph and the function may be defined by a subgraph. Next, the target graph is annotated to establish configuration settings for selected resources of the possible resources. The configuration settings may be established based on the subgraph mapping to the target graph. The target graph may also be annotated to specify parameters for the selected resources. This annotation may be performed in response to receiving parameters for the function.

A graph isomorphism process is a procedure for determining whether one graph is equivalent or isomorphic to another; for example, whether there exists a bijective mapping from one graph to another. A subgraph isomorphism process is a procedure for determining whether one graph (e.g., a subgraph) is contained within another graph; for example, whether there exists a subset of the target graph that is isomorphic to the subgraph. In the latter case, the bijective mapping of the subgraph to the subset of the target graph is also an injective morphism from the subgraph to the target graph.
Existing applications of graph isomorphism processes and subgraph isomorphism processes seek principally to answer the question of equivalence by finding a bijective mapping from one graph to another graph or to some subset of another graph. If no mapping exists, then differences between the graphs may be presented such that modifications may be made to make such a mapping possible.
A conventional program using a graph isomorphism process is the Gemini program. (See e.g., C. Ebeling and O. Zajicek, "Validating VLSI Circuit Layout by Wirelist Comparison," Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Aided Design (ICCAD), pp 172-173, 1983.) The Gemini program first models circuits as graphs having nodes (vertices). Devices (e.g., transistors) are represented as device nodes, and the interconnections (e.g., wires) are represented as net nodes. The net nodes link together the device nodes. An application of Gemini is to form one graph for a wirelist that is extracted from a layout and another graph from a specification wirelist. The Gemini program then runs a graph isomorphism process to compare the two graphs and reports if they are exactly the same. If they are not the same, the program may report differences between the underlying circuits. A typical use of this program is to determine whether a VLSI circuit layout is correct and to report differences as errors.
Another conventional program seeks to find subcircuits in a larger circuit. For example, SubGemini is a program that uses a subgraph isomorphism process to find subcircuits in a larger circuit. (See e.g., M. Ohlrich, C. Ebeling, E. Ginting, and L. Sather, "SubGemini: Identifying SubCircuits Using a Fast Subgraph Isomorphism Algorithm", Proceedings of the 30th ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference, pp 31-37, 1993.) This may be useful to identify a related group of primitive resources that function as a higher level device. For example, a common problem that this conventional program seeks to solve is converting a transistor netlist into a gate netlist.
However, such conventional techniques using graph or subgraph isomorphism processes do not seek to determine if there are multiple ways in which the first circuit maps onto the second circuit. Thus, these conventional techniques are not designed to determine optimal solutions.
Furthermore, the target circuit to which the mapping is being done is considered to be static. For example, there is no provision for modifying the target circuit to accommodate the circuit that is being mapped to it. Thus, existing techniques do not provide a means to map to a programmable hardware resource space.

Method and system using subgraph isomorphism to configure hardware resources


The present invention provides a negatively chargeable spherical toner having: a toner mother particle having a binder resin and a colorant, which has: a number average particle size of from 4.5 to 9 μm; a particle size distribution that has an integrated value of particle sizes of 3 μm or less of 1% or less; and an average sphericity of from 0.95 to 0.99; and an alumina fine particle externally added to the toner mother particle, which has a number average particle size of from 0.1 to 1.0 μm, wherein a work function (Φt) of the toner mother particle is larger than a work function (ΦA) of the alumina fine particle by at least 0.4 eV.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a negatively chargeable spherical toner used in electrophotography, and a color image forming apparatus, and a process for producing a negatively chargeable spherical toner.
2. Related Art
In the electrophotography, after an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier provided with a photoconductive material is developed by using a toner containing a colorant, transferred to an intermediate transfer medium, further transferred to a recording material such as paper and then fixed by heat, pressure or the like, to form a copied material of a printed material. In such case as utilizing the latent image carrier, for example, in Reference 1, it is described that, in the toner mother particles, using an alumina fine particle as an external additive particle, holding the surface of a latent image carrier clean all the time by an abrasive action against the surface of a latent image carrier and by such procedure, such problems as fogging and scattering of the toner are tried to be prevented and a stable image can be formed and further, an alumina fine particle having a large diameter of from 0.1 to 1.0 μm is preferably defined as the alumina fine particle. However, since the alumina fine particle having a large diameter tends to have a smaller adhesive force to the toner mother particle than that of the alumina having a small diameter from a relation of a mass thereof, there is a problem that it is liable to be dropped off. Particularly, the alumina fine particle is high in hardness and when the amount of the alumina fine particle freed from the toner mother particle is large, there is a problem that various members of the apparatus are abraded. Further, when such amount of the alumina fine particle freed is large, it gives an influence on the powder characteristics or the electrostatic properties and particularly, when a continuous printing is performed, a behavior of the toner is changed in a discontinuous manner, and accordingly there is a problem that an image quality such as image density or color reproducibility to be obtained becomes uneven, particularly, in a full-color image. Further, when the toner in which the alumina fine particle having a large particle size becomes an external additive is tried to be applied to a non-contact developing method, in the case in which the amount of the alumina fine particle having a large particle size freed from the toner mother particle is large, it has been found that various types of problems are generated such that a scattering property is deteriorated and stability of the printed image is reduced and the like.
Further, as for a conventional technique regarding the external additive, externally adding three types of external additives having different particle sizes from one another to the toner mother particle is described in, for example, Reference 2 and JP 11-184144 A; externally adding an external additive having a large particle size and a charged polarity reverse to that of the toner mother particle or an abrasive is described in Reference 3 or JP 2003-322998 A; and externally adding an inorganic fine particle having a large particle size is described in Reference 4. In any of such cases as described above, when a long-term continuous printing is performed, the external additive is freed from the surface of the toner and then the freed external additive adheres to the surface of the image carrier or the surface of the intermediate transfer medium to cause a problem of the increase in the fogging or reversal transferred toner or a problem of resulting in the decrease in transfer efficiency. This phenomenon is that the freed external additive having a reverse polarity or a negatively chargeable toner left from being transferred firmly adheres on the latent image carrier and is not transferred to the intermediate transfer medium and further, there is a problem that the freed external additive promotes abrasion of the surface of the developing member. For example, as far as a non-magnetic monocomponent developing roller is concerned, convex and concave (Rz) thereof becomes small, to cause a change of the amount of the toner to be transported.
Then, as for the documents for restricting the amount of the external additive to be freed, those as described in, for example, Reference 5, and JP 2002-189309 A, JP 2002-207314 A, JP 2002-236386 A, JP 2002-258522 A, JP 2003-207942 A, JP 2003-280240 A, JP 2003-280253 A and JP 2004-184719 A are known. Any one of them enhances a cleaning performance, prevents abrasion of the latent image carrier, improves an image quality or enhances flowability or prevents filming or abrasion, but does not positively prevent the external additive having a large particle size from being freed from the surface of the toner mother particle and as a result, there still exist disadvantages in, for example, stabilizing property of the printed image, prevention of various types of filming and abrasion, and enhancement of charge stability of the toner.
Further, the definition of the work function of the toner or the external additive and trying for improving the image quality or stabilizing the charge properties are described in, for example, Reference 6, and JP 11-174726 A and JP 2003-202696 A, and still further, an attempt to realize a stabilized charge properties or to enhance the transfer efficiency by defining the work function of the external additive is described in Reference 7. In any of such cases as described above, after a continuous printing of several ten thousands of pages is performed, the initial toner properties can not be maintained and further, it is insufficient for providing a stabilized color image by preventing filming and abrasion.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the Henschel mixer has a mixing processing tank 101 in the cylinder shape and a stirring blade rotating with a high speed on the bottom of the mixing processing tank, and promotes the mixing by repetition of the upward and downward motion such that the material to be treated is transferred with a centrifugal force generated by the lower blade 105 rotating with a high speed on the bottom of the mixing processing tank to the wall of the processing tank, and the material to be treated is slipped down on the inclined surface formed by the deposition of the material to be treated itself by gravity when the influence of the upward force by the centrifugal force, and then is again upwardly moved with the centrifugal force generated by the blade rotating with a high speed. Further, it may be conceived that the stirring and dispersion may be promoted by rotating the upper blade 110 while the material to be treated is slipped down on the inclined surface by the deposition of the material to be treated itself. However, in such the Henschel mixer, the inclined surface formed by the deposition of the material to be treated itself is slipped won as it is by gravity, and thus rotation rarely occurs. Thus, this easily causes the same parts between the particles to be brought into contact, thus there being a problem that a desired dispersed adherence, that is, a homogeneous adherence is hardly achieved.
Meanwhile, it is known that a mixing processing tank in the spherical shape is used instead of the above Henschel mixer (References 8 and 9), which has a problem that when a toner mother particle having a high degree of circularity is employed in order to increase the transfer efficiency, the rotational property is excellent, however the surface area thereof is relatively small as compared with the irregular shaped toner, as well as the convex and concave of the surface is low, thus resulting in the increase in the amount of the external additive to be freed, which is problematic.                References as cited herein are as follows:        Reference 1: JP 8-69123 A        Reference 2: JP 63-289559 A        Reference 3: JP 2002-318467 A        Reference 4: JP 2003-322998 A        Reference 5: JP 2001-117267 A        Reference 6: JP 6-332236 A        Reference 7: JP 2003-295503 A        Reference 8: JP 8-173783 A        Reference 9: JP 2002-268277 A

Negatively chargeable spherical toner, color image forming apparatus, and process for producing negatively chargeable spherical toner


In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, an image heating apparatus is provided for fusing an unfixed toner image to a substrate including a housing base for supporting a heater, and a thin film or belt extending around the housing base and heater. The heater is held to the housing base by a fastener structure that may include a pair of retainer clips having opposing ends attached to the housing base and having a central portion extending across the heater for retaining the heater in position. The clips may include outwardly extending walls for engaging edges of the belt to maintain the lateral position of the belt.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a heater attachment structure for use in a fusing system of such an apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as a printer or copier, a latent image is formed on a light sensitive drum and developed with toner. The toner image is then transferred onto media, such as a sheet of paper, and is subsequently passed through a fuser assembly where heat and pressure are applied to melt and adhere the unfused toner to the surface of the media. There are a variety of devices to apply heat and pressure to the media such as radiant fusing, convection fusing, and contact fusing. Contact fusing is the typical approach of choice for a variety of reasons including cost, speed and reliability. Contact fusing systems themselves can be implemented in a variety of manners. For example, a roll fusing system consists of a fuser roll and a backup roll in contact with one another so as to form a nip therebetween, which is under a specified pressure. A heat source may be associated with the fuser roll, backup roll, or both rolls in order to raise the temperature of the rolls to a temperature capable of adhering unfixed toner to a medium. As the medium passes through the nip, the toner is adhered to the medium via the pressure between the rolls and the heat resident in the fusing region (nip).
As an alternative to the roll fusing system, a belt fusing system can be used. In one configuration of a belt fusing system, a heater, such as a ceramic heater may be supported on a supporting member, and a pressure roll may be pressed against the heating element with a thin film belt member therebetween. Heat from the heat source may pass through the thin film to heat and adhere unfixed toner to a medium as the medium is passed between the pressure roll and the belt.
In a known construction of a belt fusing system, a ceramic heater may be attached to a supporting member with an adhesive, such as a silicone adhesive. Assembly of the heater to the supporting member using adhesive generally requires a significant investment in processing equipment, as well as a relatively long "cycle time," such as twenty-four hours, to allow the adhesive to cure. The adhesive bond may limit thermal expansion of the heater relative to the supporting member where the heater and supporting member have different coefficients of thermal expansion, and thus may cause a structural failure of the heater due to thermally induced stresses. Also, it has been observed that many "late" to "end of life" heater assembly failures have occurred as a result of a failure of the bond formed by the adhesive between the heater and the supporting member. This failure of the adhesive bond may allow the heater to move on the supporting member in an uncontrolled manner in the process direction. With the heater no longer fixed, the thin film belt may track uncontrollably side-to-side in the nip area, which can eventually lead to a failure of the belt and require fuser replacement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,035 discloses a heating apparatus in which a heater is movably supported on a support member without requiring an adhesive to attach the heater. During operation of the heating apparatus, the heater is allowed to move in the process direction within a space defined in a heater holder structure. The disclosed structure permits movement of the heater relative to the nip location, and it is believed that this may adversely affect belt tracking and may lead to additional belt wear and inconsistent print quality as compared to a heater that is precisely fixed in an immovable position.
Further, a wear condition has been observed to occur at certain contact points between the thin film belt and the heater of belt fusing systems incorporating ceramic heaters. In particular, a wear pattern on a glass layer of the ceramic heater contacting the belt has been observed to occur at a location that generally matches up with the ends or outer edges of the belt.
Accordingly, alternative designs of image heating apparatus comprising a thin film belt passing over a heater are desired.

Heating apparatus with mechanical attachment


A lock device has: a cylindrical case member in which is formed a space extending in an axial direction; a cylindrical sleeve member is disposed at an interior of the case member, and is supported and configured to move along the axial direction between a predetermined standby position and an operating position; a plunger member which is disposed at an interior of the sleeve member and configured to move along the axial direction, and which is supported and configured to move between the standby position and the operating position, and in which a key insertion hole, which is for insertion of a key from an outer side at the standby position, is formed along the axial direction; a plurality of tumbler members disposed at the plunger member and configured to move along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction between proper positions, a side lock member disposed at the plunger member and configured to approach and move away from the tumbler members, and an interlocking mechanism which, at a time when the connection of the plunger member and the sleeve member is cancelled by the side lock member, when the plunger member becomes integral with a proper key and moves to the operating position, transfers pushing force from the plunger member to a mechanism to be operated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lock device which operates a mechanism to be operated such as a locking mechanism or the like which is the object of key operation by a key inserted in a key insertion hole, and which maintains the mechanism to be operated in a non-operating state.
2. Description of the Related Art
The structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 5-59849 is known as an example of a lock device provided at the door or the like of an automobile. This lock device has: a key cylinder provided rotatably within an accommodating hole of a cylindrical-tubular case; plural tumblers provided slidably within the key cylinder; a side bar which is provided slidably within the key cylinder, and approaches and moves away from the respective tumblers; and a lever member disposed so as to be able to rotate relative to the key cylinder, and connected to a lock device which is a mechanism to be operated.
In the above-described lock device, when a proper key, at which proper engaged portions are provided is inserted into the key cylinder, the plural tumblers engage respectively with the engaged portions provided at the key and slide to predetermined proper positions, and the side bar contacts predetermined abutting positions of all of the tumblers and moves from a locking position to an unlocking position. Interlockingly therewith, the side bar engages with the lever member and connects the key cylinder to the lever member. The key cylinder and the lever member thereby become integral and able to rotate. Due to the key being rotated, the locking mechanism which is the object of the key operation can be operated by the key.
On the other hand, when a substitute for the key, such as a key of a shape different than the proper key, or a screwdriver, or the like (these will be referred to collectively hereinafter as "improper keys") is inserted in the key cylinder, at least one of the tumblers does not slide to the proper position, and the side bar is maintained at the locking position. In this way, the side bar does not engage with the lever member, and the key cylinder is not connected to the lever member by the side bar. Therefore, even if the key cylinder is rotated via the key, torque is not transmitted to the lever member, and the locking mechanism which is the object of the key operation cannot be operated.
Namely, in the lock device disclosed in JP-A No. 5-59849, if a proper key having proper engaged portions is inserted into the key cylinder and all of the tumblers which engage respectively with the plural engaged portions at the proper key move to the proper positions, the locking mechanism can be unlocked by the proper key being rotated. However, in a case in which an improper key, which has improper engaged portions or at which engaged portions are not provided, is inserted into the key insertion hole, even if this improper key is forcibly rotated, due to the key cylinder rotating idly with respect to the lever member, the locking mechanism is not unlocked. Further, because excessive force is not applied to the respective structural parts, breakage of the structural parts is prevented.
However, in a lock device such as that described above, at the time of unlocking, the key (the proper key) must be rotated against the rotation resistance of the key cylinder and the lever member, the operation resistance of the locking mechanism, and the like, and the torque which is transmitted from the key to the key cylinder is quite large. Accordingly, in order to reliably prevent deformation of the key, the strength along the twisting direction of the key must be made to be sufficiently large. For this reason, the material of a key used in a lock device such as described above is limited to a material having relatively high strength, such as iron, stainless steel, or the like. Further, the thickness of the key must be made to be sufficiently thick in accordance with the magnitude of the transmitted torque.
In order to reduce the strength along the twisting direction which is required of the key small, a lock device has been conceived of which carries out unlocking by, rather than rotating a key which is inserted in a key insertion hole of the lock device, pushing the key. However, among lock devices which operate a locking mechanism by a pushing movement, there have not been any which can effectively prevent breakage of the structural parts even if an improper key is inserted into the key insertion hole and excessive force is applied via this improper key.


An actuator having two frames, each frame including a distal end member, a proximal pivot end member or proximal end pivot point, and at least two elongated side members connected between the distal end member and the proximal pivot end member of that frame. A flexure is disposed between an end of the pivot end member of the first frame and an end of the pivot end member of the second frame. A first longitudinal span member is disposed between the distal end member of the second frame and the pivot end member of the first frame, and a second longitudinal span member is disposed between the distal end member of the first frame and the pivot end member of the second frame. At least one of the first and second longitudinal span members is an expansive element having a longitudinal axis along which dimensional strain can be induced in response to an applied stimulus. This expansive element extends in a state of compression between the corresponding distal and proximal pivot end members, with the longitudinal axis of the element in a plane parallel to side members of the first and second frames. The one or both of the longitudinal span members that are expansive elements can be, e.g., a magnetostrictive element, an electrostrictive element, or a piezoelectric element. The actuator provides many of the characteristics required to achieve optimal mass efficiency for a given set of actuator materials; and further provides advantages of high bandwidth, linearity, and large stroke performance advantages. As a result, the actuator can be adapted to many applications and can accommodate a range of engineering constraints.

This invention relates to electromechanical actuators, and more particularly relates to actuator configurations for enabling efficient, large stroke actuation.
Electromechanical actuators are employed in a wide array of engineering systems, ranging from aerospace and automotive applications to microfabrication and printing applications. Generally, actuators are included in such applications to generate force and effect displacement, for example, to open or close valves, to deflect transmission linkages, to position components, or to enable another such system function. Discrete actuators employed for such functions typically are designed to provide a desired actuation stroke over which a desired force is delivered to a given load. In one class of discrete actuators, an active element, i.e., an element that is actively stimulated by, e.g., electrical, magnetic, or thermal stimulus, is provided to generate the desired force, and a support frame or other member configured with the active element is provided to translate relative motion of the active clement to a stroke having a related force for delivery to the load.
Based on this general discrete, active-element actuation mechanism, an actuator can be characterized by the level of energy it adds to or removes from the system in which it operates during the actuation stroke. Typically, energy must be supplied to the actuator from the system to enable the actuator stroke; specifically, energy is supplied to the active element to power generation of a force that is delivered through the stroke to a load, thereby producing work. A corresponding criterion for discrete actuator performance is generally based on efficiency of an actuator in converting energy input to its active element into the energy delivered by the actuator stroke. One metric for assessing this criterion is actuator mass efficiency, which is specified as the ratio of specific work delivered by an actuator to specific energy available to be supplied by the actuator's active elements.
Based on this energy relationship, the mass efficiency of a discrete actuator is directly related to the characteristic stiffness of the actuator, reflecting the fact that a stiff actuator load-bearing stroke mechanism is generally more efficient than a relatively more compliant stroke mechanism. Additionally, the actuator mass efficiency criterion is inversely related to the characteristic mass of an actuator, reflecting the fact that a relatively more massive stroke mechanism is generally more efficient than a less massive one. These mass efficiency considerations, both of which favor a more massive actuator, tend to be in direct conflict with the primary requirement of many engineering systems that the mass of an actuator incorporated in a such a system be minimized. But because engineering systems commonly require high actuator efficiency as well as low actuator weight, an explicit tradeoff in actuator design is typically required that often is suboptimal with respect to one or possibly even both requirements.
A wide variety of discrete, active-element actuator designs have been proposed in an effort to produce high-efficiency actuation mechanisms. For example, Hall and Spangler in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,826, and Hall and Prechtl, in "Development of a piezoelectric servoflap for helicopter rotor control," Smart Mater. Struc., No. 5, pp. 26-34, 1996, have proposed an actuator, for helicopter rotor blade control, that employs an active monolithic piezoelectric ceramic bimorph structure cantilevered from a blade spar. The cantilevered structure is in turn connected to a trailing edge flap to be rotated by the actuator by way of a stroke mechanism incorporating three flexure points. While it is shown that tailoring of the bimorph structure can produce a relatively high actuator mass efficiency, the flexure points in the load-bearing actuation stroke path introduce parasitic compliance that inherently limits the attainable actuator mass efficiency, due to energy loss in bending, and for any actuator mass. In addition, the cantilevered monolithic bimorph structure, in which piezoelectric actuation is transverse to the applied electrical stimulus, is found to be characterized by an energy density that is considerably lower than that of a piezoelectric ceramic stack structure, in which piezoelectric actuation is parallel to the applied electrical stimulus.
While a piezoelectric ceramic stack structure indeed is characterized as an active actuation element having a high energy density, as well as a very high bandwidth, a piezoelectric stack structure is typically limited to only a relatively small stroke. As a result, a stroke amplification mechanism is generally required of an actuator incorporating such a structure. Ideally, an amplification stroke mechanism acts as nearly as possible like a true mechanism, i.e., it amplifies motion without resistance due to friction in hinges or other effects that impede mechanism motion, and it does not add compliance in series with the active element longitudinal expansion and contraction stroke path.
One discrete actuator employing an amplified-stroke ceramic stack configuration has been proposed by Kimura et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,381, among others. Here a piezoelectric stack is connected to a rigid support at one end and connected through a flexible member to a hinged fulcrum and lever structure at its other end. Expansion of the stack causes the fulcrum to rotate about the hinge away from the stack, in turn extending the lever, thereby translating the longitudinal stack expansion to a correspondingly amplified lever extension. Although this actuator provides a very effective stroke amplification mechanism, its lever design is inherently compliant, i.e., inefficient, in that it tends to bend against a load as the lever extends. Added mass is required to increase its stiffness and correspondingly increase its efficiency. Furthermore, realization of the hinge as a flexure that is located along the active element longitudinal expansion and contraction stroke path, as is conventional, introduces a high degree of parasitic compliance and energy loss that limits the actuator's efficiency for any selected mass.
The lever arm compliance of this fulcrum-lever design has been shown to be eliminated in a range of stack-based actuator designs that have been proposed, including, e.g., that of Stahlhuth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,808,874 and 4,952,835; and that of Fenn et al. in "Terfenol-D driven flaps for helicopter vibration reduction," SPIE V. 1917--Smart Struct. & Intell. Syst., pp. 407-418, 1993. In the Stahlhuth design, two active element stacks are positioned such that their longitudinal reaction creates an amplified perpendicular displacement of saggital linkages connected at ends of the stacks. In the Fenn design, two active element stacks are positioned to react longitudinally against each other at a shallow angle to create an amplified perpendicular displacement of a control rod connected between the stacks.
While overcoming the lever arm compliance of the lever design, both of these dual-stack actuator designs require at least one flexure to accommodate angular rotation of a stack or linkage relative to a support frame as the stacks longitudinally expand; indeed, several flexure points are required in each actuator. These flexures, being in the load-bearing stroke path, add significant parasitic compliance to the actuators and thus decrease the attainable efficiencies of the actuators for any selected actuator mass. The actuators are also rather complex and incompact in their configurations, thereby placing somewhat excessive space requirements on a system in which they are to operate. In addition, the Stahlhuth design requires compensation for thermally-induced excursions in its operation.
In another Stalhuth actuator design, similar to the Fenn actuator design described above and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,569, flexures at ends of the active element stacks are replaced by knife-edge rolling contact mechanisms. Although these contact mechanisms minimize flexural compliance, they are found to exhibit relatively high Hertzian losses due to their acute contact area. More importantly, this Stalhuth actuator employs a frame configuration in which the angle of the active element stacks, with respect to the horizontal, changes substantially over the course of one stroke cycle. As a result, the stroke amplification mechanism is very nonlinear, i.e., the stroke amplification factor changes during one stroke cycle. This nonlinearity is unacceptable for many high-precision applications, and in some cases can lead to a bifurcation of the active elements with respect to the frame.
These example actuator designs point out that actuator compliance is a predominant limitation conventionally associated with discrete actuator design inefficiency, due either to bending of a mechanism in the active element load path or to a hinge mechanism, such as a flexure, provided for accommodating rotational degrees of freedom in the active element load path. Compensation for bending with added actuator mass is often at odds with a given application weight limit, and cannot compensate for flexural compliance, which is parasitic and mass-independent. As a result, compromises in actuator performance specified for a given engineering application are often required to accommodate attainable actuator efficiency. Indeed, the example actuator designs illustrate that typically, an actuator configuration ultimately is limited to provide only one of low weight, high bandwidth, large stroke, or linearity performance advantages, but cannot well-address all four of these performance criteria will simultaneously meeting mass efficiency goals.

High-efficiency, large stroke electromechanical actuator


In a phase divider, a complex signal containing a sequence of samples of real and imaginary values is limited to a unit amplitude and multiplied by a first complex multiplier with a first feedback complex signal, the output the multiplier being fed through a loop filter to a second complex multiplier where the signal is multiplied with a second feedback complex signal. The output of the second multiplier is limited to a unit amplitude, delayed by a sample interval and applied to the second complex multiplier as the second feedback complex signal. The first feedback complex signal is derived by a circuit that raises the frequency the delayed signal by a desired factor.

The present invention relates generally to phase dividers, and more particularly to a frequency divider for quadrature signals.
In synchronous detectors for M-ary phase shift keyed signals, a series of an M-th power multiplier, a low-pass filter and a 1/M frequency divider is connected to the output of an A/D converter to recover the transmitted carrier for synchronously detecting the original signal. The 1/M frequency divider comprises an xy-to-8 (phase) conversion table which detects the phase angle of quadrature (complex) signals from the A/D converter and supplies it to a phase divider that divides the detected phase angle with a ratio 1/N. The output of the phase divider is coupled to a sine translation table and a cosine translation table to generate cosine (real part) and sine (imaginary part) wave signals. The phase .theta..sub.i of the input signal to the 1/M frequency divider is defined within the range between -.pi. and +.pi.. If there is a phase change of 2.pi., the input phase can be represented as .theta.'.sub.i =.theta..sub.i +2.pi.. However, the phase conversion table cannot discriminate between .theta.'.sub.i and .theta.".sub.i and treats the input phase equivalently as .theta.".sub.i =.theta..sub.i (mod 2.pi.). Under such circumstances, the division by the phase divider results in a phase angle .theta.".sub.i /M=.theta..sub.i /M. Since it must be .theta.'.sub.i /M=.theta..sub.i /M+2.pi./M, a phase error of 2.pi./M results.