This invention provides the use of a combination of CCI-779 and EKB-569 in the treatment of neoplasms.

This application claims priority from copending provisional application Serial No. 60/310,646, filed Aug. 7, 2001, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to the use of combinations of rapamycin 42-ester with 3-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylpropionic acid (CCI-779) and 4-dimethylamino-but-2-enoic acid [4-(3-chloro-4-fluoro-phenylamino)-3-cyano-7-ethoxy-quinolin-6-yl]-amide (EKB-569).
Rapamycin is a macrocyclic triene antibiotic produced by Streptomyces hygroscopicus, which was found to have anti-fungal activity, particularly against Candida albicans, both in vitro and in vivo [C. Vezina et al., J. Antibiot. 28, 721 (1975); S. N. Sehgal et al., J. Antibiot. 28, 727 (1975); H. A. Baker et al., J. Antibiot. 31, 539 (1978); U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,929,992; and 3,993,749]. Additionally, rapamycin alone (U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,171) or in combination with picibanil (U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,653) has been shown to have antitumor activity.
The immunosuppressive effects of rapamycin have been disclosed in FASEB 3, 3411 (1989). Cyclosporin A and FK-506, other macrocyclic molecules, also have been shown to be effective as immunosuppressive agents, therefore useful in preventing transplant rejection [FASEB 3, 3411 (1989); FASEB 3, 5256 (1989); R. Y. Calne et al., Lancet 1183 (1978); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,899]. R. Martel et al. [Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 55, 48 (1977)] disclosed that rapamycin is effective in the experimental allergic encephalomyelitis model, a model for multiple sclerosis; in the adjuvant arthritis model, a model for rheumatoid arthritis; and effectively inhibited the formation of IgE-like antibodies.
Rapamycin is also useful in preventing or treating systemic lupus erythematosus [U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,999], pulmonary inflammation [U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,899], insulin dependent diabetes mellitus [U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,009], skin disorders, such as psoriasis [U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,730], bowel disorders [U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,731], smooth muscle cell proliferation and intimal thickening following vascular injury [U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,711 and 5,516,781], adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma [European Patent Application 525,960 A1], ocular inflammation [U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,589], malignant carcinomas [U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,018], cardiac inflammatory disease [U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,832], and anemia [U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,138].
Rapamycin 42-ester with 3-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylpropionic acid (CCI-779) is ester of rapamycin which has demonstrated significant inhibitory effects on tumor growth in both in vitro and in vivo models. The preparation and use of hydroxyesters of rapamycin, including CCI-779, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,718.
CCI-779 exhibits cytostatic, as opposed to cytotoxic properties, and may delay the time to progression of tumors or time to tumor recurrence. CCI-779 is considered to have a mechanism of action that is similar to that of sirolimus. CCI-779 binds to and forms a complex with the cytoplasmic protein FKBP, which inhibits an enzyme, mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin, also known as FKBP12-rapamycin associated protein [FRAP]). Inhibition of mTOR's kinase activity inhibits a variety of signal transduction pathways, including cytokine-stimulated cell proliferation, translation of mRNAs for several key proteins that regulate the G1 phase of the cell cycle, and IL-2-induced transcription, leading to inhibition of progression of the cell cycle from G1 to S. The mechanism of action of CCI-779 that results in the G1→S phase block is novel for an anticancer drug.
In vitro, CCI-779 has been shown to inhibit the growth of a number of histologically diverse tumor cells. Central nervous system (CNS) cancer, leukemia (T-cell), breast cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma lines were among the most sensitive to CCI-779. The compound arrested cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.
In vivo studies in nude mice have demonstrated that CCI-779 has activity against human tumor xenografts of diverse histological types. Gliomas were particularly sensitive to CCI-779 and the compound was active in an ortho-topic glioma model in nude mice. Growth factor (platelet-derived)-induced stimulation of a human glioblastoma cell line in vitro was markedly suppressed by CCI-779. The growth of several human pancreatic tumors in nude mice as well as one of two breast cancer lines studied in vivo also was inhibited by CCI-779.
Protein tyrosine kinases are a class of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of a phosphate group from ATP or GTP to tyrosine residue located on protein substrates. Protein tyrosine kinases clearly play a role in normal cell growth. Many of the growth factor receptor proteins function as tyrosine kinases and it is by this process that they effect signaling. The interaction of growth factors with these receptors is a necessary event in normal regulation of cell growth. However, under certain conditions, as a result of either mutation or overexpression, these receptors can become deregulated; the result of which is uncontrolled cell proliferation which can lead to tumor growth and ultimately to the disease known as cancer [Wilks A. F., Adv. Cancer Res., 60, 43 (1993) and Parsons, J. T.; Parsons, S. J., Important Advances in Oncology, De Vita V. T. Ed., J. B. Lippincott Co., Phila., 3 (1993)]. Among the growth factor receptor kinases and their proto-oncogenes that have been identified and which are targets of the compounds of this invention are the epidermal growth factor receptor kinase (EGF-R kinase, the protein product of the erbB oncogene), and the product produced by the erbB-2 (also referred to as the neu or HER2) oncogene. Since the phosphorylation event is a necessary signal for cell division to occur and since overexpressed or mutated kinases have been associated with cancer, an inhibitor of this event, a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, will have therapeutic value for the treatment of cancer and other diseases characterized by uncontrolled or abnormal cell growth. For example, overexpression of the receptor kinase product of the erbB-2 oncogene has been associated with human breast and ovarian cancers [Slamon, D. J., et al., Science, 244, 707 (1989) and Science, 235, 1146 (1987)]. Deregulation of EGF-R kinase has been associated with epidermoid tumors [Reiss, M., et al., Cancer Res., 51, 6254 (1991)], breast tumors [Macias, A., et al., Anticancer Res., 7, 459 (1987)], and tumors involving other major organs [Gullick, W. J., Brit. Med. Bull., 47, 87 (1991)]. Because of the importance of the role played by deregulated receptor kinases in the pathogenesis of cancer, many recent studies have dealt with the development of specific PTK inhibitors as potential anti-cancer therapeutic agents [some recent reviews: Burke, T. R., Drugs Future, 17, 119 (1992) and Chang, C. J.; Geahlen, R. L., J. Nat. Prod., 55, 1529 (1992)].
4-Dimethylamino-but-2-enoic acid [4-(3-chloro-4-fluoro-phenylamino)-3-cyano-7-ethoxy-quinolin-6-yl]-amide (EKB-569) is an EGFR kinase inhibitor which has significant inhibitory effects on tumor growth in both in vitro and in vivo models. The preparation and use of EGFR kinase inhibitors, such as EKB-569, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,008.

Treatment of neoplasms with CCI-779/EKB-569 combination


Devices, methods, and systems for detecting wake words and audio commands that should be disregarded are disclosed. In some instances, a local device may receive a wake word or audible command transmitted or uttered in a television or radio advertisement, program, broadcast, etc. In these instances, the local device should disregard such wake words and audible commands, as they are not from a user of the local device. To detect such wake words and commands, audio fingerprinting and speech recognition techniques may be used to determine whether the wake word and/or command substantially matches the audio of a known television or radio advertisement, program, broadcast, etc. If the wake word and/or command substantially matches, the local device may then disregard the command.

Human-computer interactions have progressed to the point where humans can control computing devices, including gaming devices, and provide input to those devices, by speaking. These devices may employ techniques to identify the words spoken by a human user based on the various qualities of a received audio input. For example, in response to a user spoken wake word or wake command, a device may turn on. Such techniques are called speech recognition or automatic speech recognition (ASR). Speech recognition combined with language processing techniques may allow a user to control a device to perform tasks based on the user's spoken commands. Speech recognition may be used by computers, hand-held devices, telephone computer systems, kiosks, and a wide variety of other devices to improve human-computer interactions.


The invention provides human cell cycle related proteins (CCRP) and polynucleotides which identify and encode CCRP. The invention also provides expression vectors, host cells, antibodies, agonists, and antagonists. The invention also provides methods for treating or preventing disorders associated with expression of CCRP.

Cell division is the fundamental process by which all living things grow and reproduce. In unicellular organisms such as yeast and bacteria, each cell division doubles the number of organisms, while in multicellular species many rounds of cell division are required to produce a new tissue or organ and to replace cells lost by wear or by programmed cell death. Details of the cell division cycle may vary, but the basic process consists of three principle events. The first event, interphase, involves preparations for cell division, replication of the DNA and production of essential proteins. In the second event, mitosis, the nuclear material is divided and separates to opposite sides of the cell. The final event, cytokinesis, is division and fission of the cell cytoplasm. The sequence and timing of these cell cycle events is under the control of the cell cycle control system which regulates the process at various check points. Over the past two decades, much research has been devoted to studying the structure and functions of various proteins that regulate these events.
The entry and exit of a cell from mitosis is regulated by the synthesis and destruction of a family of activating proteins called cyclins. Cyclins act by binding to and activating a group of cyclin-dependent protein kinases (Cdks) which then phosphorylate and activate selected proteins involved in the mitotic process. Several types of cyclins exist. (Ciechanover, A. (1994) Cell 79:13-21.) Two principle types are mitotic cyclin, or cyclin B, which controls entry of the cell into mitosis, and G1 cyclin, which controls events that drive the cell out of mitosis.
The activation and targeting of specific Cdks is also under control of certain cell division cycle (CDC) regulator proteins. For example in humans, CDC37 is a protein kinase-targeting subunit that binds and stabilizes Cdk4 and permits it to complex with cyclin D1. The formation of this complex is an important step for entry into the cell cycle. (Stepanova, L. et al. (1996) Genes and Development 10:1491-1502.)
Guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (GTP-binding proteins or G-proteins) also participate in cell cycle control as well as in a wide range of other regulatory functions including metabolism, growth, differentiation, signal transduction, cytoskeletal organization, and intracellular vesicle transport and secretion. G-proteins control a diverse set of regulatory pathways in response to hormones, growth factors, neuromodulators, or other signaling molecules. When these molecules bind to transmembrane receptors, signals are propagated to effector molecules by intracellular signal transducing proteins.
Some G-proteins are heterotrimeric, composed of G.alpha., G.beta., and G .gamma. subunits. (Watson, S. and Arkinstall, S. (1994) The G-Protein Linked Receptor Facts Book, pp. 296-314.) In these proteins, G.alpha. binds to and hydrolyzes GTP resulting in the dissociation of G.alpha. from a tightly complexed G.beta..gamma. dimer. The released G.alpha. and G.beta..gamma. subunits in turn regulate the activity of effector proteins such as cGMP phosphodiesterase and adenyl cyclase. (Watson, J. A. et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271:28154-28160.) The low molecular weight (LMW) GTP-binding proteins are another class of G-proteins which consist of single polypeptides of 21-30 kDa. These proteins regulate cell growth, cell cycle control, protein secretion, and intracellular vesicle interaction. LMW GTP-binding proteins activate cellular proteins by transducing mitogenic signals in response to extracellular signals from receptors. (Tavitian, A. (1995) C. R. Seances Soc. Biol. Fil. 189:7-12.) During this process, the hydrolysis of GTP acts as an energy source as well as an on-off switch for the GTPase activity of the LMW GTP-binding proteins.
The LMW GTP-binding proteins have been grouped into four subfamilies: Ras, Rho, Rab and Ran. Specifically, Ras genes are essential in the control of cell proliferation and mutant Ras genes have been associated with cancer; Rho proteins control signal transduction in the process of linking receptors of growth factors to actin polymerization which is necessary for cell division; Rab proteins control the translocation of vesicles to and from membranes for protein localization, protein processing, and secretion; and Ran proteins are located in the cell nucleus and have a key role in nuclear protein import, control of DNA synthesis, and cell-cycle progression.
Cell cycle progression also requires co-ordinate expression of certain other proteins as well. N-glycosylation of proteins is required for progression through the G1 period of interphase. In yeast, for example, PSAL is an essential gene for G1 progression that encodes a protein with homology to NDP-hexose pyrophosphorylase; an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of activated sugar nucleotides. (Benton, B. K. et al. (1996) Curr. Genet. 29:106-113.) PSA1 appears to play a role in N-glycosylation and Gi progression perhaps by responding to levels of glycosylation necessary for G1 progression. Inhibitors of N-glycosylation, such as tunicamycin, induce G1 arrest in mammalian cells as well as yeast, suggesting that this mechanism is evolutionarily conserved in all eukaroytes. (Benton et al. supra.)
The discovery of new cell cycle related proteins and the polynucleotides encoding them satisfies a need in the art by providing new compositions which are useful in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer and immune disorders.


Systems and methods for applying different color calibrations at different locations in an imaging photometer measurement are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for measuring a light source having a first area with a first spectral distribution and a second area having a second spectral power distribution can include selecting one or more data points in the first area for measurement. The method then includes applying a calibration to the selected data points in the first area such that a desired colorimetric result is displayed for each data point in a single colorimetric measurement of the first area. In several embodiments, the method can further include selecting one or more data points in the second area, and applying a different calibration to the selected portions of the second area such that a desired colorimetric result is also displayed for each data point in the second area.

Visual display manufacturers must simultaneously satisfy several, often competing, requirements. These include the need to minimize the number of individual light sources used, constraints on overall system physical dimensions, and the attainment of high degrees of both color and brightness uniformity. Achieving color and brightness uniformity requirements are particularly complicated by the fact that a single visual display (e.g., automobile instrument panel, cockpit display, signage display) may utilize a mixture of different source types (e.g., incandescent bulbs, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and/or fluorescent lights) having significantly different spectral characteristics. Accurate calorimeter measurement (i.e., determining luminance and chromaticity coordinates) of such a display can provide several significant challenges.
One conventional process for measuring such displays includes the use of a single luminance meter and/or colorimeter (i.e., a "spot photometer" or "spot colorimeter," respectively) to measure the different portions of the display having different spectral characteristics. This conventional approach can generally provide the necessary measurement with a sufficient degree of accuracy, but this process is far too slow for production applications and, in many cases, most research uses.
Another approach for measuring such displays includes the use of an imaging photometer (e.g., a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imaging system). A CCD system, for example, can substantially improve the speed and efficiency of testing displays because a CCD array can include a large number of detectors and, accordingly, a single measurement with the CCD system can include a very large number of test points (e.g., in excess of 1×106). Rather than taking many separate spot measurements of a visual display (as necessary with the above-described spot detectors), the CCD system can image the entire display simultaneously and capture many thousands or millions of points in just seconds.
Measuring displays with CCD systems, however, also includes several drawbacks. For example, the transmission of the filters in combination with the camera response generally does not exactly match the tristimulus curves. Accordingly, an accurate color calibration can generally be established for a small color range, but would not be accurate for the entire visible spectrum. This is particularly true of a display that has several different colors using narrow band light sources, such as LEDs in an instrument cluster. One conventional method to overcome this problem is to make several color calibrations and take several measurements to determine the correct chromaticity and luminance values. This method, however, is extremely time consuming and requires significant computing resources (e.g., for post-processing of the data and storage of the large amounts of data). Accordingly, there is a need to improve the systems and methods for measuring visual displays.

Methods and apparatuses for applying different color calibrations at different locations in an imaging photometer measurement


A method of manufacturing an organic transistor active substrate is disclosed. The organic transistor active substrate includes an organic transistor in which a first electrode is formed on a substrate, a first insulating film is formed on the first electrode, a pair of second electrodes is formed on the first insulating film, and an active layer made of an organic semiconductor material is formed on the pair of second electrodes. The organic transistor is laminated with a second insulating film, and the second insulating film is laminated with a third electrode which is electrically coupled to one of the second electrodes via a through-hole provided through the second insulating film. The first electrode is formed by inkjet ejection; the first insulating film is formed by coating; the pair of second electrodes is formed by inkjet ejection; the active layer is formed by inkjet ejection; the second insulating film is formed by screen printing; and the third electrode is formed by screen printing.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to active substrates using organic transistors, and more particularly to an organic transistor active substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and an electrophoretic display using the organic transistor active substrate that can be manufactured by simple methods at low cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the following matrix type displays are known: passive type displays and active type displays. A passive type display is driven by a scanning electrode and a data electrode that are mutually orthogonal. An active type display selects pixels to be lit by using a switching element such as a transistor and a memory element.
Examples of active type displays are disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-255857 "Organic EL Display" (Patent Document 1), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-318196 "Active element and display device with the same" (Patent Document 2), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-241527 "Organic active element and display element having the same" (Patent Document 3), and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-64122 "Ink and method for forming organic semiconductor pattern, electronic element, and electronic element array" (Patent Document 4). An active type display has a structure driven by a simple matrix, and an active element (switching element) is added to each pixel, so that a target pixel can be turned on/off. Accordingly, active type displays can be used for displaying videos when high image quality and fast response speed are required.
In the technology disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-255857 (Patent Document 1), each pixel included in a matrix array formed on a substrate includes at least one organic EL (Electro Luminescence) element which is driven by two or more organic thin-film transistors (TFTs). Each organic TFT includes a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, an organic semiconductor layer coating the gate insulating film, a source electrode, and a drain electrode. The gate insulating film serves as an active substrate for an organic EL display, which includes a metal oxide film that is formed by anodically oxidizing the surface of the gate electrode. Accordingly, organic TFTs of low threshold voltage and low operating voltage can be formed at a low process temperature.
Organic semiconductor active elements (transistors) and electrophoretic display devices using the active elements are disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-318196 (Patent Document 2) and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-241527 (Patent Document 3).
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-64122 (Patent Document 4) discloses ink that is useful for forming organic semiconductor patterns, and an electronic element and an electronic element array in which electrodes are formed by an inkjet printing method employing the aforementioned ink.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-255857
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-318196
Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-241527
Patent Document 4: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-64122
As described in the above conventional technologies, there have been attempts to manufacture display panels by disposing transistors made of organic semiconductor materials on arrays to form active substrates, and laminating the active substrates with display elements. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of such a display panel. As shown in FIG. 4, electrophoretic microcapsules 9 are provided between an electrode of an active substrate and a transparent electrode 10. A supporting substrate is denoted by 11.
Another example of a display panel is shown in FIG. 7. An electrophoretic dispersion liquid 13 is provided in spaces (denoted by 13), which spaces are formed by providing partition layers 12 that join the supporting substrate and the active substrate.
The active substrate is laminated with the display element as follows. As shown in FIG. 1, an organic thin-film transistor (hereinafter, "organic TFT) includes a substrate 1, a gate electrode 2, a gate insulating layer 3, source/drain electrodes 4, and an active layer 5. As shown in FIG. 2, a pixel electrode (individual electrode 8) needs to be disposed on the organic TFT via an interlayer insulating film 6. However, properties of the organic TFT may deteriorate when forming the interlayer insulating film 6 or subsequently forming a through-hole 7.
The following conditions need to be satisfied when forming the interlayer insulating film 6: (1) form the film at low temperature (when the substrate is made of plastic, the process temperature is to be equal to or less than 200° C.); (2) prevent damage (transistor performance is prevented from declining due to film formation); and (3) keep the process simple (keep costs low; vacuum film formation entails high costs in the device and large environmental effect (e.g. electricity)).
Next, conventional methods of forming the interlayer insulating film 6 and their problems are described.    a) Vacuum film formation of inorganic insulating film    a1) Plasma CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method using silane gas
not simple process, plasma damage occurs    a2) Sputtering method
not simple process, plasma damage occurs    a3) Film formation by SOG (spin on glass)
requires heat treatment at a temperature equal to or greater than 200° C.    b) Organic insulating layer    b1) Cast film formation by various insulating polymers    Among the above examples, the b) organic insulating layer is considered as preferable.
Methods of forming the interlayer insulating film 6 and their problems are described in further detail.
First, methods of forming the a) inorganic insulating film and their problems are described.
The a1) plasma CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method is performed by placing a sample in a vacuum chamber and evacuating the chamber. Silane gas serving as material gas and reactant gas that promotes oxidation reaction are injected into the chamber. A desired oxidized silicon film is obtained due to adherence/thermal decomposition reaction of the material gas on the substrate surface. The plasma CVD method assists the reaction by discharging radio frequency energy, and is therefore advantageous in film formation at low temperature. The plasma CVD method is typically performed with the substrate temperature at about 300° C.
Next, a description is given of the a2) sputtering method, which is also a type of vacuum film formation method, similar to the plasma CVD method.
In the sputtering method, an argon gas plasma is formed by discharging RF energy as mentioned above. A target material to be used for film formation is placed facing against the substrate and deposited onto the substrate by a sputtering phenomenon. The film formation can be performed in room temperature, although the film quality may depend on the temperature.
Disadvantages of the above film formation methods are as follows:    (1) Inconvenience of using a vacuum device    (2) The sample is exposed to an environment including positive charges and negative charges, which electrically damage the sample (generally referred to as plasma damage). Particularly, failures occur when forming an interlayer insulating layer on the transistor. Examples of the failures include drifting of the threshold voltage of the transistor and a decline in the insulating resistance value of the gate insulating film.
Next, problems of the a3) SOG method are described.
In a typical SOG method, a solution whose major component is tetraethoxysilane is made into a coating film by spin coating and then heat treated to obtain an oxide silicon film. Accordingly, film formation can be performed with a simple device such as a spin coating device, without requiring a vacuum device. However, in this film formation method, tetraethoxysilane is subject to hydrolytic cleavage, polycondensation, and dehydration reaction; therefore, heat treatment of 200° C. is required (heat treatment of 400° C. is required in the case of withdrawal of residual water group). Accordingly, this method cannot be employed when the substrate is made of a material such as plastic, which restricts the heat treatment temperature.
As described above, a) formation of inorganic insulating films entails various problems; therefore, organic insulating films are preferable. However, when forming organic insulating films, it is necessary to open a through-hole to obtain conductivity between one of the pair of electrodes of the transistor and the pixel electrode.
Generally, the through-hole is opened by photolithographic etching. However, when forming an organic insulating film, there is a problem in that an organic solvent included in photoresist elutes the base insulating film. The organic solvent used for removing the photoresist after the etching process also elutes the base insulating film.
When the etching is done by a dry process, plasma damage is incurred by the TFT. Specifically, the sample is disposed on the side of a ground electrode in a vacuum chamber in which RF plasma can be discharged, a reactant gas including a fluorine compound is injected into the chamber, and plasma is generated. On the ground side, the electron mobility and the hole mobility are different from each other; therefore, a bias electric field is generated in a self-aligned manner. In the dry etching process, fluorine ions that are accelerated by this bias are irradiated onto the sample to cause chemical reactions in volatile substances, thereby removing the photoresist. Similar to the above example, the bias electric field also causes drifting of the transistor performance and deterioration of breakdown resistance of the gate insulating film, thereby causing plasma damage. Thus, even with the cast film formation method using an organic insulating film, the results are unsatisfactory.
To address the above problems, there is a technology of forming an interlayer insulating film by depositing beforehand an organic insulating film in areas apart from the through-hole, and providing the through-hole by screen printing.
Next, the principle, the performance, and problems of screen printing are described.
a) Principle of Screen Printing
An emulsion is disposed on a stainless mesh with a desired aperture (screen printing plate), and printing ink is transferred from the aperture of the plate to a print object by squeegee action. The printed matter is evened out by leveling the transferred ink (see FIG. 5).
b) Print Pattern and Required Ink Performance
Description for Print Pattern A
An emulsion that blocks ink is disposed in an inverse pattern. A stainless mesh is provided at the emulsion aperture, which hampers the passage of ink. Immediately after the squeegee action, ink is transferred onto the print object in island-like forms. As time passes, the island-like forms of ink are leveled, changing into a planar, continuous film, and forming a pattern. This leveling operation has a detrimental effect in terms of reproducing dimensions of the pattern. Specifically, due to the leveling operation, the resultant print pattern becomes larger than the original dimensions of the aperture in the emulsion.
Description for Print Pattern B
By the same principle, dimensions of the through-hole become small.
Generally, print pattern A and print pattern B are distinguished as a positive type and a negative type, respectively. In conventional screen printing methods, negative type patterns are rarely used.
Screen printing is performed to form structures (thick-film patterns) for electrode printing in rib materials and multilayer ceramic wiring substrates of plasma displays, and internal electrode printing in laminated ceramic condenser components. In these examples, positive type patterns are used.
Negative type pattern printing is occasionally performed to form protective films for a mounting circuit board. In this case, an aperture is formed with dimensions in millimeter order. The positive type patterns have dimensions of 30 μm to 50 μm for mass production, and 10 μm to 30 μm for research stages. In general, the criteria values of stable machining for negative type patterns are 200 μm to 300 μm.
Through-hole dimensions designed for organic TFT array substrates are approximately 150 μm to 5 μm, which are less than or equal to the criteria values of stable machining; although these dimensions may depend on the pixel integration density. Accordingly, screen printing has not been conventionally employed for printing interlayer insulating films, although the method is simple.
c) Problems in Application to Organic TFT
As shown in FIG. 2, the interlayer insulating film 6 is directly laminated on the organic semiconductor layer (the active layer 5 shown in FIG. 1). Thus, the organic solvent included in the interlayer film ink (hereinafter, simply referred to as "paste") dissolves or swells the organic semiconductor layer, which may result in degraded semiconductor properties. Accordingly, there is a need for a simple method of manufacturing elements in which these problems are solved.
Next, examples of manufacturing an amorphous Si active substrate and an organic semiconductor (pentacene) active substrate are described.
An active substrate using organic semiconductor materials is more advantageous than an active substrate using Si system semiconductor materials employed in flat panel displays. Specifically, the advantages include reductions in manufacturing costs due to simple processes, use of a simple manufacturing device, and product cost reductions accompanied by using the simple device. Today, efforts are being made to develop active substrates using organic semiconductor materials for flat panel displays.
<Example of manufacturing amorphous Si active substrate>    1. Substrate    2. Formation of gate electrode (first electrode)            chromium vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching            3. Formation of gate insulating film (first insulating film)            SiO2 vacuum film formation (sputtering film formation)            4. Formation of active layer            film formation of hydrogenated amorphous Si by plasma CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method and photolithographic etching            5. Formation of source/drain electrodes (second electrode pair)            aluminum vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching            6. Formation of interlayer insulating film (second insulating film)            SiO2 vacuum film formation (sputtering film formation)            7. Open contact hole            photolithographic etching            8. Formation of individual electrode (third electrode)            aluminum vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching
<Example of manufacturing organic semiconductor (pentacene) active substrate>    1. Substrate    2. Formation of gate electrode (first electrode)            chromium vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching            3. Formation of gate insulating film (first insulating film)            SiO2 vacuum film formation (sputtering film formation)            4. Formation of source/drain electrodes (second electrode pair)            aluminum vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching            5. Formation of active layer            film formation of pentacene by vacuum evaporation and photolithographic etching            6. Formation of interlayer insulating film (second insulating film)            SiO2 vacuum film formation (sputtering film formation)            7. Open contact hole            photolithographic etching            8. Formation of individual electrode (third electrode)            aluminum vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching
The difference between forming the amorphous Si active substrate and the organic semiconductor (pentacene) active substrate is the method of forming the active layer. The hydrogenated amorphous Si is formed by the plasma CVD method. To obtain a high-quality semiconductor, the substrate temperature needs to be high enough (at 250° C. to 350° C.); therefore, the active substrate is made of glass.
On the other hand, the substrate temperature can be at room temperature in the case of film formation for the pentacene semiconductor; therefore, the active substrate can be made of plastic.
In terms of the manufacturing device, a plasma CVD device is used instead of a vacuum evaporation device; therefore, the cost of the device and running costs are certainly reduced.
Recently, the field of printing electronics has been rapidly growing. Specifically, there is a technology of forming conventional metal wirings by an inkjet method or other printing methods by using conductive polymers or nano-metal ink. There is another technology of forming a pattern for a functional film without performing vacuum film formation; i.e., making ink from an organic semiconductor material other than pentacene such as a polymer, by dissolving it in a solvent.
For example, organic semiconductor materials such as polythiophene and fluorene-thiophene copolymer are used in these technologies.
When a fluorene-thiophene copolymer (F8T2) is formed by the inkjet method in the example of manufacturing an organic semiconductor (pentacene) active substrate described above, an even more simple process can be performed at step 5 instead of vacuum evaporation and photolithographic etching. It is also possible to make ink from polyethylene-dioxy-thiophene (PEDOT) to obtain a conductive polymer to be used for wiring, or to use nano-silver ink for an inkjet coating and applying heat treatment of 200° C. to be used for wiring.
These printing electronics technologies can substitute for the vacuum film formation and photolithographic etching processes performed in forming electrodes at steps 1, 2, and 3; therefore, simplification of processes and devices can be promoted significantly.
When the inkjet method is employed for forming a wiring pattern, the dimensions of the pattern are restricted by the volume of ejected ink and landing accuracy of ink. Presently, wirings of 100 microns can be formed; however, improvements need to be made to form even more microscopic wirings.
The inventors of the present invention have succeeded in forming a pattern having intervals of 5 μm for a second electrode layer of a transistor by using the inkjet coating method. Specifically, the pattern is formed by simple processes including changing the surface energy of the base, and applying light treatment on surfaces that easily absorb ink and surfaces that do not easily absorb ink; and by a self-eliminating mechanism of the coated ink (see Patent Document 3). It is imperative to form a pattern with microscopic intervals for the second electrode of the transistor in order to enhance performance of the transistor. Further, an application of a wiring technology employing the inkjet method has been submitted with Patent Document 4.
An organic transistor active substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the organic transistor having a structure as shown in FIG. 2, on which the through-hole 7, the interlayer insulating film 6, and the individual electrode 8 are two-dimensionally disposed. The organic transistor active substrate transmits image signals from a source electrode of the organic transistor to the individual electrode (pixel electrode 8) via the through-hole 7.
FIG. 3 is a top view of the organic transistor active substrate. The organic transistor active substrate includes a gate electrode 302, a drain electrode 304, a source electrode 305, a signal line 308, a scanning line 309, and a pixel electrode 310 (corresponding to the individual electrode 8 shown in FIG. 2).
An electrophoretic display according to an embodiment of the present invention has a structure as shown in FIG. 4, in which the electrophoretic microcapsules 9 are enclosed in between the individual electrode 8 and the transparent electrode 10 supported by the supporting substrate 11. The electrophoretic display displays black/white according to image signals received by the individual electrode 8 of the organic transistor. The structure shown in FIG. 4 is used for one pixel.
The manufacturing method using the conventional printing technology of the organic transistor shown in FIG. 1 can be significantly simplified as follows (the arrow → indicates the improvement).    1. Substrate    2. Formation of gate electrode (first electrode)            chromium vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching        → formation by nano-silver ink/IJ (inkjet) method        (vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching are not performed)            3. Formation of gate insulating film (first insulating film)            SiO2 vacuum film formation (sputtering film formation)        → formation of polyimide by spin coating        (vacuum film formation is not performed)            4. Formation of source/drain electrodes (second electrode pair)            aluminum vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching        → formation by partial surface modification of polyimide by light irradiation+nano-silver ink/IJ method        (vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching are not performed to form resist pattern for processing)            5. Formation of active layer            film formation of pentacene by vacuum evaporation, and photolithographic etching        → formation with polymer organic semiconductor material by IJ method (vacuum film formation, photolithographic etching are not performed)
With this simplified method, costs can be significantly reduced.
However, the conventional method is performed in subsequent processes to form the interlayer insulating film (second insulating film) 6, to open the contact hole, and to form the individual electrode 8 shown in FIG. 2; therefore, costs are not thoroughly reduced.
A preferable printing method for manufacturing an active substrate made of organic TFT is described below.
To form a first electrode layer (gate electrode), a method of printing a pattern of less than or equal to 100 μm is selected. Examples of such a method include inkjet printing, intaglio printing, and relief printing. A second feature required in the electrode layer formation is to form a thin electrode film.
The transistor is formed by laminating a functional film, and the resulting laminated pattern needs to be prevented from being cut off due to a difference in levels with the base. In intaglio printing, it is possible to print patterns with line widths of 20 μm, so that the resolution is sufficient; however, intaglio printing is inappropriate for forming thin films (the film thickness is generally 2 to 3 μm in intaglio printing).
Another property required in a printing method for the electrode layer formation is that the printing ink type is not restricted. An electrode is formed by printing with nano-metal ink, and the electrode is heat treated so as to provide conductivity. An intaglio printing material, which does not degrade properties of nano-metal ink, is now being developed. On the other hand, any type of ink can be used with the inkjet method as long as the viscosity and the surface tension are matched. It is preferable to use the same manufacturing device for forming the source/drain electrodes to be described later, because the inconvenience of using plural devices and managing plural manufacturing methods can be eliminated, and capital investment costs can be reduced.
Properties required for a printing method for forming a second electrode layer (source/drain electrodes) are as follows: a space of less than or equal to 20 μm can be resolved, and the positional shift with respect to the base pattern needs to be less than or equal to 3 μm. The aforementioned intaglio printing and relief printing methods do not satisfy the requirement of positional alignment. The inventors of the present invention have proposed an IJ printing method employing a technology for controlling wettability of polyimide by light irradiation (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2006-060079).
The IJ method is preferable for printing on organic semiconductor material, because any ink type can be applied, and is also advantageous in that the same manufacturing device can also be used for forming the source/drain electrodes.
Properties required for a printing method for forming an interlayer insulating film are described below. The pixel electrode is disposed on the interlayer insulating film; therefore, sufficient electrical insulating properties need to be realized, and the interlayer insulating film needs to be adequately isolated dielectrically. The reason is that when the pixel electrode is provided with electric potential, the interlayer insulating film serves as a dielectric film and provides a dielectric field to the base organic semiconductor layer. This may cause the operating point of the transistor to shift. In order to solve such a problem, the interlayer insulating film needs to have a thickness of several μm.
A through-hole needs to be formed through the interlayer insulating film having a thickness of several μm, in order to make electric connection with the base electrode. Accordingly, the interlayer insulating film is to be printed beforehand in parts apart from the electrical connection. With the intaglio printing method, thick films can be formed; however the printing positions cannot be sufficiently aligned with respect to the base pattern. On the other hand, these disadvantages can be solved with the screen printing method.
When forming pixel electrodes, an electrical disconnection at the through-hole is prevented by printing the film with a thickness corresponding to concavities and convexities of the printing base. This requires a printing method in which positional alignment is highly precise and thick films can be formed; accordingly, the screen printing method is selected. Screen printing is also employed for forming interlayer insulating films, and is therefore advantageous in that a common device can be used and manufacturing methods are conveniently managed.

Organic transistor active substrate, manufacturing method thereof, and electrophoretic display


A projection type headlamp for motor vehicles is described including a screen (3) and an objective (4). A reflecting segment (5) is provided between the screen (3) and objective (4), and the reflecting segment (5) is provided at lower side of the objective (4). The reflecting segment (5) is arranged at an inclined angle (i.sub.5), when viewed in a vertical section. A refractor (6) follows the objective (4). Band lenses (62) having a diameter (R) and a width (H) are provided with the refractor (6), the lenses (62) arranged in a direction toward the reflecting surface (51) of the reflecting segment (5). The reflecting surface (51) is either rotationally symmetric or planar.

With well-known elliptic-dioptric headlamps comprising an elliptic reflector, a screen and a lens, the lens is designed for throwing the light beam from the reflector in such a way that it is almost fully directed to below the horizontal plane so that the luminous intensity above said plane is of a minimum value. This admittedly leads to a reduction of dazzling the drivers of passing cars but, onthe other hand, due to to a poor illumination, the perception of vertical traffic signs or signals is limited, since the brightness of communicative surfaces of such signs, if illuminated by such headlamps, becomes relatively low. Apart from this, such reduced luminous intensity above the light and darkness boundary does not enable the driver to sufficiently control his activity in the upper part of his operative space. This may negatively influence any travel on untreated and unlit roads, and particularly in the absence of the so-called silhouette vision created by the lights of passing cars.


An adjustable anti-tip stop for a wheelchair is disclosed.

Wheelchairs are land vehicles that are provided for transporting the physically impaired. Wheelchairs generally include a base frame supported on a supporting surface by a pair of idler wheels and a pair of drive wheels. The drive wheels may be manually driven by a wheelchair occupant or power driven by motors controlled by the wheelchair occupant. The wheelchair may be maneuvered by differentially driving the drive wheels. The idler wheels are generally in the form of casters, typically located in front of the drive wheels. The casters swivel to enhance the maneuverability of the wheelchair. Optionally, the wheelchair may include a pair of anti-tip wheels, typically located to rear of the drive wheels, which function to enhance the stability of the wheelchair.
The drive wheels have historically supported a rear portion of the wheelchair base frame while casters have supported a front portion of the wheelchair. However, the drive wheels of late have supported a front portion of the base frame as well. The former wheelchairs are commonly referred to as rear-wheel drive wheelchairs while the later wheelchairs are commonly referred to as mid-wheel drive wheelchairs. The casters of rear-wheel drive wheelchairs are typically located towards the front of the base frame. The casters of mid-wheel drive wheelchairs typically located towards the rear of the base frame.
Tipping is a potential problem with wheelchairs, and can occur when accelerating, or traversing obstacles or unlevel terrain. Tipping may also occur in wheelchairs that are provided with reclining seats. Anti-tip wheels are commonly attached to wheelchairs to reduce the risk of wheelchairs tipping over. Anti-tip wheels are usually attached to the rear end of rear-wheel drive wheelchairs and to the front end of mid-wheel drive wheelchairs. The anti-tip wheels are typically fixed in place or limited to a predetermined range of motion. This may have an undesirable affect on the operation of the wheelchair. For example, if the anti-tip wheels are fixed in place the mobility of the wheelchair may be impaired by the limited range of motion of the anti-tip wheels and make maneuverability difficult. Additionally, for example if the anti-tip wheels are limited to a predetermined range of motion and the range of motion is too large then the anti-tip wheels may fail to add stability since they would not provide resistance until after the wheelchair has become unstable. Conversely, if the range of motion is too small then the wheelchair may experience the same problems as when the anti-tip wheels are fixed in place.
It would be advantageous if there could be developed an improved anti-tip system that provides stability while maintaining the mobility and maneuverability of a wheelchair.

Stop for an anti-tip wheel for a wheelchair


An electronic payment card includes a support of standardized thickness and an electronic module having a semiconductor component, the module being designed to be incorporated in the support. The electronic module is included in a miniature card of thickness equal to the standardized thickness, the support having an opening for receiving the miniature card. The opening and the miniature card have complementary parts for removably installing the miniature card in the opening and suitable, firstly, for preventing the miniature card from being positioned incorrectly in the opening and, secondly, for integrating the miniature card exactly in the thickness of the support. The card is applicable to the field of electronic transactions requiring the use of a memory card.

In general, the memory cards used for performing electronic payments include a semiconductor component, also referred to as a "chip", placed on an intermediate element carrying electric contacts to which the component is connected by metal wires.
The assembly comprising the intermediate element and the semiconductor component constitutes an electronic module of dimensions that are small enough to require it to be integrated in a support of greater dimensions, that is easier to handle, and that is referred to as a "card body".
Nowadays, card bodies are of a format standardized by an ISO standard, being 85.6 mm long, 54 mm wide, and 0.80 mm thick.
The electronic module may be incorporated in the card by being affixed in a machined cavity if the card body is made by rolling, or by being inserted in a mold when the card body is made by molding.
Naturally, under no circumstances can the electronic module be removed from the card body once it has been integrated therein. For example, when the sum available in a phone card has been spent, then the entire card, i.e. the module and the card body, must be discarded.
In the field of mobile telephony, there also exist electronic modules which are carried by miniature cards known as "plugs" that are much smaller in size than the above-mentioned ISO cards and that are designed to be inserted in a mobile telephone.
Some such miniature cards are presented on an ISO format card to which they can be mechanically secured, e.g. by means of slideways disposed on the surface of the card.
The card proper serves only as a support for said miniature cards, which need to be separated therefrom in order to be used, and then after use they are reconnected therewith for storage and transport.
In other cases, mobile telephone miniature cards are sold integrated in releasable manner to a card body in the ISO format. To separate the miniature card, the user must break ties connecting it to the card body, with this being irreversible. The card body is then of no further use and is discarded.
It will be observed in both of the above examples that the presence of an ISO format card body serves only to compensate for the small dimensions of the miniature card by offering the user a support that is easier to handle.
It should also be observed that under no circumstances does the card body play any role when the electronic module is in use.

Electronic payment card with an interchangeable module


An operation lever unit includes an operation handle attached to an operating rod of an engine-powered portable working machine. The operation handle is equipped with a throttle lever for regulating the power of an engine, a lock lever for holding the throttle lever in a desired position, and a secondary throttle adjustment lever for achieving a fine adjustment of the position of the throttle lever. To hold the throttle lever in the desired position, the throttle lever is forced against a portion of the operation handle by the action of a thrust cam mechanism disposed between the throttle lever and the lock lever. For achieving the fine adjustment of the throttle lever position, the secondary throttle adjustment lever is forced by a thumb of the operator to forcibly turn the throttle lever against a frictional force acting between the throttle lever and the handle portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an operation lever unit for engine-powered working machines, and more particularly to a throttle lever unit provided on a rod of a carrying bush cutter having a circular cutter driven in rotation by an engine carried on the back of an operator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A carrying bush cutter having a circular cutter attached to the top of a hand-operating rod and driven in rotation by an engine carried on the back of an operator for achieving a bush-removing work is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. SHO 63-14035. In use of the disclosed bush cutter, the operator swings the rod in vertical and horizontal directions while gripping an operation handle provided on the rod, so as to remove bushes by the rotating circular cutter. In order to control the rotational speed of the cutter, output power of the engine is regulated by a throttle lever provided on a grip portion of the operation handle.
Disadvantageously, because the operator is forced to continue gripping of the throttle lever together with the operation handle throughout a bush-removing work, a heavy work load is put on the operator.
Somewhat successful prior improvements have proposed a lock mechanism associated with the throttle lever to lock the throttle lever in a desired position to thereby reduce the work load on the operator. Typical examples of the prior improvements are disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publications Nos. SHO 53-42661, SHO 55-21536 and SHO 60-41539.
According to the disclosed operating lever units, the throttle lever is displaced to a predetermined operating position, then locked in this operating position by activating the lock mechanism. The lock mechanism is released at need.
More specifically, the operation lever unit disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. SHO 55-21536 is constructed such that when a throttle adjustment is needed, the throttle lever is turned by the thumb or the second finger of a hand of the operator while the operation handle and an unlock lever are continuously gripped by the same hand. Actuation of the throttle lever using a single finger is unable to guarantee smooth and reliable movement of the throttle lever in both the throttle-opening direction and the throttle-closing direction.
The operation lever unit disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. SHO 60-41539 is designed such that when a throttle adjustment is needed, a lock lever is turned to a given position by using the second finger of a hand of the operator and the throttle lever is turned to a desired position by the second finger. During that time, the operation handle is continuously gripped by the same hand. Actuation of the two levers using a single finger is insufficient to provide a smooth and reliable movement of the throttle lever in both the throttle-opening direction and the throttle-closing direction.
The operation lever unit disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. SHO 53-42661 is designed such that when a throttle adjustment is needed, a throttle trigger is actuated by the thumb while gripping the operation handle together with a safety tripper. Likewise the operation lever units shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication Nos. SHO 55-21536 and SHO 60-41539, the throttle adjustment disclosed in this Japanese Publication relies on the use of a single finger. Accordingly, a precise throttle adjustment is difficult to achieve.
In general, the bush cutter while in use for bush-removing operation is subjected to various sorts of vibrations caused due, for example, to running of the engine, rotation of a drive shaft extending through the operating rod, and rotation of the circular cutter. In order to keep a satisfactory level of working efficiency, the operator is required to continue a firm grip on the operation handle throughout the bush-removing work.

Operation lever unit for engine-powered working machine


A technique for improving power/ground flooding is disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the technique may be realized as a method for improving power and ground flooding in a multilayer circuit board, the multilayer circuit board having a plurality of signal layers. The method may comprise forming a plurality of electrically conductive vias, wherein each of the plurality of electrically conductive vias extends through one or more of the plurality of signal layers. The method may also comprise routing signals associated with the plurality of electrically conductive vias, thereby creating at least one power/ground flooding channel. The method may additionally comprise forming at least one power/ground connection within the at least one power/ground flooding channel.

Multilayer circuit boards were developed to overcome area limitations associated with single-layered circuit boards. A multilayer circuit board can be either single- or double-sided, and may comprise multiple signal layers on the surface of and buried within the board. Such multilayer circuit boards have allowed a significant increase in the number of electrical signals that may be routed between electronic components mounted on the same circuit board. Thus, electronic components with a large number of input/output (I/O) pins may be mounted on a single circuit board. And sophisticated micro-systems may be delivered in multi-chip packages.
As the number of pin-outs increases, often accompanied by a decrease in pin pitch, it has become more and more difficult to achieve full power and ground flooding within a package. For example, due to high pin density, space limitations can make it impossible to route a trace to a power/ground pin. Even if a trace may be routed for a power/ground connection, it is often too thin for sufficient current to flow through. A high-density package also tends to have more severe electromagnetic interference (EMI) among its components. Sufficient ground flooding of the package is usually crucial to an effective containment of EMI.
Furthermore, high-density packages with multilayer circuit boards can produce a substantial amount of heat even during normal operations. Excessive heat tends to deteriorate the performance of electronic components and shorten their lifetime. Therefore, preventative measures become necessary to help dissipate excessive heat. However, space limitations within a multilayer circuit board often hinders the implementation of heat-dissipating measures.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a layout footprint of a surface mount grid array package having over two hundred I/O contacts. FIG. 1 also shows a legend indicating the type of signal associated with each I/O contact. These I/O contacts may be accommodated by corresponding vias extending into or through the multilayer circuit board. As shown, while some of the ground vias are clustered in the center, others are loosely scattered throughout the layout footprint.
One prior art solution for providing ground flooding for the ground vias is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. By applying the channel-routing techniques (e.g., dog-boning and power-sharing) described in earlier related patent applications, some vias may be re-arranged or removed, thereby creating via-free areas 202 and via-free channels 204 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Then, a center ground patch 302 may be formed to connect all the ground vias in the center cluster. Connection lines 306 may be provided to link the center ground patch 302 with a ground plane 304. Although this prior art solution may alleviate the above-described ground flooding deficiencies to some extent, full flooding is not achieved due to spacing setup. The connection lines 306 may be too thin to support the large currents required for ground flooding. And several ground vias 308 still do not have sufficient contact to the ground plane 304.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a solution for power and ground flooding in multilayer circuit boards which overcomes the above-described inadequacies and shortcomings.

Technique for improving power and ground flooding


Conveyor drum for receiving axially aligned articles that are conveyed in a cross-axial direction toward the conveyor drum. Conveyor drum includes a separation device for changing a longitudinal axial spacing of the articles by a predetermined longitudinal axial separation, and an adjustment device structured and arranged to adjust the predetermined longitudinal axial separation. The instant abstract is neither intended to define the invention disclosed in this specification nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a conveyor drum for articles of the tobacco processing industry with a lifting device for changing the longitudinal axial spacing of articles aligned with one another in a longitudinal axial manner and conveyed in at least one row to the conveyor drum in a crosswise axial manner by a predetermined longitudinal axial lift. Furthermore, the invention relates to a machine of the tobacco processing industry.
In the present context, articles of the tobacco processing industry means those objects that are held on conveyors in a single-layer or multi-layer row by vacuum intake air, as, e.g., on conveyor drums in filter or cigarette manufacturing machines and conveyed by the same. Such articles are filter cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos and filter plugs, filter segments, etc. When for the sake of simplicity reference is made below merely to cigarettes or filters, these terms also apply analogously to other articles of the above-mentioned type to be conveyed, e.g., filter segments.
2. Discussion of Background Information
In cigarette machines, cigarettes are kept on conveyor drums crosswise to their longitudinal axial alignment by vacuum intake air. These drums are primarily drums of cigarette manufacturing machines or of filter tipping machines. Cigarettes can be arranged on the conveyor drum next to one another in two essentially parallel rows and moved on the conveyor drum at right angles with respect to the cigarette axes. In order, e.g., to insert a double filter between two cigarettes aligned axially to one another, cut double-length tobacco rods are spread on the conveyor drum in a longitudinal axial manner and a double-length filter plug is inserted.
During the spreading of the cut tobacco rods on the conveyor drum, the cut tobacco rods are subjected to a predetermined lift, so that the cut tobacco rods are spaced in a longitudinal axial manner.
Moreover, sliding drums are known in which filter plugs arranged in parallel rows, displaced relative to one another are pushed together on the sliding drum to form one row of filter plugs arranged one behind the other.
With the known spreading drums and sliding drums, the articles on these conveyor drums are subjected to a predetermined longitudinal axial lift. Due to the construction of the conveyor drums, the lift or the longitudinal axial displacement is fixed. For example, DE-A-41 34 663 describes a device for the axial displacement of a row of cigarettes relative to a parallel row of cigarettes passing through. The seats for the row of cigarettes to be displaced are arranged at the ends of cranked crank arms that are supported in a parallel disk drive. The axes of the parallel disk drive are inclined relative to axes of a drum conveying a row of cigarettes passing through.


An image distribution apparatus divides image data of a single frame into a plurality of blocks, orthogonally transforms the blocks and calculates transformation coefficients, quantizes the calculated transformation coefficients, codes the quantized transformation coefficients, and distributes the coded image data. The image distribution apparatus acquires the quantized transformation coefficients, stores the acquired transformation coefficients in a storage unit, calculates differences between the transformation coefficients of a first frame and the transformation coefficients of a second frame stored in the storage unit in a unit of block, counts blocks whose difference values calculated above are equal to or greater than a predetermined value as changing blocks of the first frame, and determines that the first frame has changed when the counted number of blocks is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image distribution apparatus preferable in using in an image distribution system that distributes images, a communication terminal apparatus, and a control method thereof, and more particularly relates to detection processing of changes in distributed images.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, image distribution systems that continuously distribute images to client-side via a data transfer medium such as the Internet or an intranet and monitoring systems are already diffused, being used in various fields of, for example, distribution of live video images, indoor and outdoor monitoring, or observation of plants and animals. Further, some of these systems are provided with a function (a function of image change detection) that detects changes in images with time.
However, the conventional function of image change detection determined whether there has been a change in an image, according to the size of a pixel difference value between a current frame and a previous frame, which does not allow accurate determination on image changes due to effects by noise or the like. Further, it is not possible to set conditions of determination on image changes in the function of image change detection as conditions desired by users.
Still further, although the Internet is widely used as a user-friendly data transfer medium connecting image distribution apparatuses with communication terminals on client-side recently, a sufficient transfer capacity is not necessarily secured, because a transfer route is not fixed.
For example, in the case of using a modem, which is typically used with a personal computer, as a communication section with connection to a telephone line as a part of a transfer medium, the transfer rate is several ten k bit/second, and thus the transfer capacity is not large enough to continuously distribute images. A transfer capacity larger than several hundred M bit/sec is required in order to transfer present TV video signals with no degradation. Even using an efficient dynamic image coding system such as MPEG-2 (Motion Picture Coding Experts Group-2), which is an international standard, degradation is apparent with a data rate as low as 1 M bit/sec. Therefore, when transfer capacity is several ten k bit/sec at most, the image size is reduced, the frame rate is dropped, and the compression rate is increased, thereby reducing the data rate at a cost of degradation of the image quality of reproducing images.
Accordingly, in continuously distributing images via a low speed transfer medium, also due to an insufficient transfer capacity for transferring data other than image data (coded data), results of image change detection, which are transmitted from an image distribution apparatus to communication terminals on client-side, include only digital and simple information just for notifying as to whether there has been a change in an image for each frame.
Accordingly, communication terminals on client-side receive only very simple results of image change detection, making it impossible for clients to grasp optimum parameters for image change detection (parameters to decide a situation in which image changes can be determined) or to find optimum parameters that detect image changes.
Nor is it possible to set desirable parameters for image change detection, from client-side to the image distribution apparatus via communication lines.
As described above, image data is usually coded to be transmitted to a transfer medium. Depending on the transfer speed of the transfer medium, the transmitting frame rate of image data is in general smaller than the frame rate of coded image data. In other words, a part of coded image data is not transmitted but is disposed. On the other hand, detection of image change is performed on all frames of input image data, thus results of image change detection are transmitted from the image distribution apparatus to the communication terminals of client-side one-sidedly. Accordingly, image change detection is performed with a rate greater than the transmitting frame rate. In addition, image data and results of image change detection are not always distributed with synchronization, and thus it is difficult to correctly recognize the results of image change detection in detail, for example, as to which region of which image frame changed at which timing.
Therefore, in trying to set parameters of image change detection from client-side, for example, detection situation is not recognized completely in correspondence with frames, causing a problem of requiring try and error for several times before parameters are decided.

Image distribution apparatus, communication terminal apparatus, and control method thereof


A personal digital assistant (PDA) having a multi-positional handset is disclosed. A PDA has a base with a recessed handset cradle and a handset with a shape complementary to the configuration of the cradle. A power storage device is included within the handset and a power supply device is included within the base. For on-the-road use, the handset is configured to be removably secured within the cradle in a substantially flush configuration with the base. For office use, the handset is configured to be removably secured to the base in a substantially non-flush configuration that is easy for a user to grasp. The power storage device can receive power from the power supply device when the handset is in either a flush or non-flush configuration.

With the increased mobility of many in today's workforce, the demand for mobile computing and communication capabilities outside of the office has also increased. Those who typically work outside the office such as salespeople and field professionals often require the ability to communicate with others and access various data files. In response to this demand, personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been developed. A PDA is a compact device that can serve various functions of a cellular phone, facsimile transmitter, personal organizer, and the like. PDAs typically include a stylus and touch screen for user input, and may include a keyboard. PDAs can be used for sending and retrieving e-mail, Web browsing, and data-sharing applications over the Internet, intranet or corporate networks.
PDAs incorporating voice communication capabilities may include a handset. Because PDAs are designed for mobility, they are often small, compact devices. Accordingly, a handset associated therewith is typically small in size as well. To protect a handset during travel and to prevent it from becoming dislodged from a PDA, the handset is mounted within a PDA in a secure manner. Often times a handset is "buried" deep within the casing of a PDA so as to be flush with the body of the PDA.
Unfortunately, a tradeoff for securely mounting a handset within a PDA is that removal of the handset from the PDA can be cumbersome and somewhat difficult. This may hinder acceptance of PDAs for use within the office in place of traditional desk top telephone devices.
It may be difficult to make PDA handsets more accessible in the office. Because a PDA handset is typically untethered to a PDA, it often operates under battery power. Consequently, a PDA handset is typically configured to be recharged when secured within its holder in the PDA. In addition, the handset may serve various functions, such as allowing the PDA to be used as a speaker phone. By raising the handset somewhat from its holder to increase user accessibility, the ability to recharge the handset or use the PDA as a speaker phone may become difficult.

Multi-positional handset for personal digital assistant


A steering device includes: a rotary shaft supported by an upper bracket; a plurality of engaged teeth fixed to an upper jacket; a lock member including engaging teeth to mesh with the engaged teeth; and a support shaft supported by a lower jacket at a position farther away from the engaged teeth than the rotary shaft 35. When the rotary shaft is rotated, a first rotary member is rotated in synchronization with the rotary shaft. A second rotary member moves the lock member to a disengaged position in conjunction with rotation of the first rotary member. The lock member is urged toward a meshing position by an urging member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steering device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-90856 (JP 2009-90856 A) describes a steering device in which a steering shaft is inserted through a tubular steering column. In the steering column, an upper column and a lower column are assembled telescopically to enable position adjustment of a steering wheel in the axial direction. A clamp portion is mounted to the upper column. The clamp portion is supported by a second vehicle body-side bracket via a first vehicle body-side bracket so as to enable tilt position adjustment. A first through hole and a second through hole are formed in the clamp portion.
A tightening rod is inserted through the first through hole. A rotary shaft is inserted through the second through hole. An operation lever is mounted to one end of the tightening rod. A telescopic holding toothed cam having an eccentric tooth portion is rotatably coupled to the tightening rod. A rotation transfer portion that engages with the telescopic holding toothed cam is non-rotatably coupled to the rotary shaft. The rotary shaft and the operation lever are coupled to each other by a torsion coil spring.
When the operation lever is operated in the clamp direction, rotation of the operation lever is transferred to the rotary shaft via the torsion coil spring to rotate the rotary shaft. Consequently, an abutment piece of the rotation transfer portion contacts the upper side of the telescopic holding toothed cam while being elastically deformed, and thus the telescopic holding toothed cam is rotated so that the eccentric tooth portion of the telescopic holding toothed cam meshes with the outer periphery of the upper column. Consequently, the steering wheel is fixed in position.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-254204 (JP 2010-254204 A) describes a steering device that includes an outer column and an inner column inserted through the outer column. A passage hole and a through hole are formed in the outer column. A rod-like member is inserted through the through hole. An adjustment lever is fixed to the base end portion of the rod-like member. An unlock lever is fitted with the rod-like member. A support shaft disposed in parallel with the rod-like member is inserted through the through hole. A telescopic lock eccentric cam is externally fitted with the middle portion of the support shaft. The distal end portion of the unlock lever faces a stepped receiving surface of the telescopic lock eccentric cam. The telescopic lock eccentric cam faces the upper surface of the inner column. When the adjustment lever is turned, the distal end portion of the unlock lever pushes the stepped receiving surface downward to turn the telescopic lock eccentric cam. Consequently, a telescopic lock depression/projection formed on the telescopic lock eccentric cam abuts against the upper surface of the inner column, which fixes the steering wheel in position.
In the steering device according to JP 2009-90856 A, an operation member such as the operation lever and the rotary shaft are coupled to each other by the torsion coil spring. Therefore, the urging force of the torsion coil spring acts on the operation lever, which may increase the operating force required to operate the operation lever. When the operating force is increased, the operability of the operation lever is reduced.
In the steering device according to JP 2010-254204 A, the clearance between the rod-like member and the support shaft must be kept at a predetermined distance in order to cause the distal end portion of the unlock lever, which is fitted with the rod-like member, and the stepped receiving surface of the telescopic lock eccentric cam, which is externally fitted with the support shaft, to face each other. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the clearance between the rod-like member and the support shaft in the axial direction when the rod-like member and the support shaft are disposed side by side in the axial direction.
When an operation member such as the adjustment lever is disposed at a position away from the upper surface of the inner column, on the other hand, the rigidity of the steering device is reduced. Therefore, in the steering device according to JP 2010-254204 A, it is difficult to reduce the clearance between the rod-like member and the support shaft in the axial direction by disposing the rod-like member, which is provided with the adjustment lever, at a position away from the upper surface of the inner column.
Hence, there is a limitation on the reduction in clearance between the rod-like member and the support shaft in the axial direction of the inner column, which makes it difficult to downsize the steering device.


A technique for determining the number of constraints on, or topological dimension of, a set of input data produced by a nonlinear system, such as a pathological vocal or econometric system. The technique characterizes the tangent space about a predetermined base point by identifying a maximal set of non-redundant nonlinear fits to the data. It needs only a few data points and only assumes that the functional form of the true constraints is smooth. Each fit is equivalent to a set of contours, with the data lying along the zero-value contour. For each fit, the gradient at the base point in the uphill direction identifies the constraint direction. The number of linearly independent constraint directions provides the number of constraints near the base point. The remaining unconstrained directions define the tangent space, which has a dimensionality equal to the number of linearly independent unconstrained directions.

Certain practical applications of data processing systems relate to fitting models to sets of data. For example, in applications such as speech processing, signal processing, econometric data prediction, demographic analysis and the like, a set of data points are first collected from a real world process. It is desired then to find a set of mathematical equations which can be used to model the process accurately, for example, to predict the future behavior of the real-world system.
Determining the number of dimensional constraints on the collected data, or equivalently the topological dimension, dT, is an important problem in the study of nonlinear system responses. For example, three-coordinate data may fill a volume, lie on a surface, be confined to a curve, or even degenerate to a point, reflecting zero, one, two, or three independent constraints (representing a topological dimension, dT, of three, two, one, or zero, respectively). In the case of a real-world system in which linear responses may be assumed, this problem is able to be robustly solved by matrix decomposition techniques such as Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) or eigenvalue decomposition. These modeling methods assume that linear functions will adequately fit the data. However, such linear techniques cannot generally be directly applied to an instance of a nonlinear system with satisfactory results.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Determining a tangent space and filtering data onto a manifold

Speech Technology and Applied Research Corporation


A carrier transfer facilitating device does not require, for example, renewal (replacement) of an existing load port. Specifically, a carrier transfer facilitating device is provided for a load port on which a FOUP is placed. The carrier transfer facilitating device includes a temporary table on which the FOUP is temporarily placed, a carrier transferring carriage that travels above a carrier table of the load port and the temporary table in the horizontal direction and that lifts and transfers the FOUP between the carrier table and the temporary table, a supporting member that supports the temporary table and the carrier transferring carriage, and a controller that controls the movement of the carrier transferring carriage so as to avoid contact of the carrier transferring carriage with the FOUP while the FOUP is transferred between the hoop supporting table or the temporary table and an OHT.

A transporting system relating to this kind of technique is described in Patent Document 1, for example. The transporting system described in Patent Document 1 includes a load port, a relay unit located adjacent to the load port, and a carrier transferring device incorporated in the load port and the relay unit. The carrier transferring device has a carrier moving device and a carrier lifting device set below a carrier table of the load port and the relay unit. The transportation of a carrier to the load port (load ports) is performed by a transporting vehicle such as an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transfer). According to this transporting system, the placement of the carrier and the picking of the carrier can be attained by one pass of the OHT. Accordingly, the waiting time for transportation of the carrier can be reduced without adopting a device having a plurality of load ports the number of which is large.


A CPU (91) of an image forming apparatus includes a beam detecting part (911) that detects each of laser beams scanning by a predetermined number (e.g., four) of polygon mirrors (332) at a preset position (where a beam sensor (335) is disposed), a reference phase setting part (912) that sets a reference phase that is a phase to be a reference of the predetermined number of rotation phases of the polygon mirrors (332) based on a result of detection by the beam detecting part (911), and a phase control part (913) that controls polygon motor (330) so that predetermined number of rotation phases of the polygon mirrors (332) match the reference phase.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms a color image through the steps of forming latent images by applying laser beams to photosensitive drums via polygon mirrors for two or more predetermined number of colors (e.g., four colors including magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y) and black (K)), forming toner images corresponding to the formed latent images, and superposing the toner images of the predetermined number of colors to be transferred to a paper sheet. In particular, the present invention relates to a color copier, a color printer and a multifunction apparatus having either one of these functions.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, as for the image forming apparatus such as a copier or a printer that forms a color image through the steps of forming latent images by applying laser beams to photosensitive drums via polygon mirrors for two or more predetermined number of colors (e.g., four colors including magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y) and black (K)), forming toner images corresponding to the formed latent images, and superposing the toner images of the predetermined number of colors to be transferred to a paper sheet (i.e., through a so-called electrophotography process), it becomes a standby state for saving power consumption if a predetermined time period (e.g., a minute) passes without any input such as an external operation.
In this standby state or other states except a printing operation state, polygon motors that drive polygon mirrors are not driven. For this reason, when the apparatus returns from the standby state to an operating state, "rotation phases" of the polygon mirrors corresponding to individual colors may be shifted (i.e., a phase difference is generated) resulting in occurrence of color drift. Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of color drift, drive control of the polygon motors should be performed so that two or more predetermined number (e.g., four colors) of rotation phases of the polygon mirrors match each other.
Note that a rotation angle of a direction of a mirror surface of the polygon mirror with respect to a reference direction (e.g., a direction of the perpendicular from the center of the rotation axis of the polygon mirror to the axis of the photosensitive drum) is referred to as the "rotation phase" here. For example, in a case of a polygon mirror having six mirror surfaces, a rotation phase difference between polygon mirrors is within a range of −30 to +30 degrees.
A printer that can make rotation phases of the polygon mirrors match each other includes laser beam detectors for detecting laser beams scanning by the polygon mirrors corresponding to magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y) and black (K) colors at predetermined positions on scanning paths as disclosed in JP-A-H9-233281 for example, and with reference to output signals of the laser beam detectors, rotation phase differences (i.e., phase differences) of all polygon mirrors (e.g., three polygon mirrors of magenta (M), cyan (C) and yellow (Y)) except one polygon mirror as a reference (e.g., a polygon mirror corresponding to black (K)) are calculated with respect to the reference polygon mirror, so that rotation frequencies of the polygon motors corresponding to the three polygon mirrors are changed for predetermined time periods.
Here, one polygon mirror (e.g., a polygon mirror corresponding to black (K)) is regarded as a reference, and the rotation frequency of the polygon motor that drives the other polygon mirror (e.g., a polygon mirror corresponding to magenta (M)) is changed based on the rotation phase difference (i.e., phase difference) of the other polygon mirror (e.g., the polygon mirror corresponding to magenta (M)) in the conventional image forming apparatus such as a printer described above. Therefore, if the rotation phase difference (i.e., phase difference) is large, time period necessary for making the rotation phases match each other (here referred to as phase control time) increases. In addition, if change quantity of the rotation frequency of the polygon motor is increased for decreasing the phase control time, overshoot or undershoot of the rotation frequency of the polygon motor occurs resulting in a difficulty in making the rotation phases match each other.


The present invention provides a stretchable fabric that may serve as a switch device or coupling to an electronic device and a power source by merely stretching or pushing the fabric. The stretchable fabrics may be usable in a wearable garment, furniture, or other suitable locations where it can be incorporated to close a circuit. Through a releasable stretching or pushing action by the user, electrically conductive strips integrated in the fabrics come in contact to activate related ancillary equipment such as power supplies or electronic devices.

Intuitive switches that utilize soft fabric materials are conductive fibers and are highly desirable in wearable or other electronics applications. Techniques known for providing an electrical switch system in clothing fabric typically include adding electric wires and control devices that are standard "off the shelf" electronic components to the fabric, by incorporating the wires directly into the fabric or by attaching the wires to the fabric, e.g., by sewing.


A draw frame for drafting a sliver includes a drafting unit having a plurality of roll assemblies spaced from one another in a direction of sliver advance. One of the roll assemblies is an output roll assembly situated at a downstream end of the drafting unit as viewed in the direction of sliver advance. A sliver guide is disposed downstream of the output roll assembly and a sliver trumpet is disposed downstream of the sliver guide. The sliver passes through the sliver guide and the sliver trumpet. An electronic camera is arranged to capture images of the sliver at a location which is downstream of the output roll assembly and upstream of the sliver trumpet. An electronic image evaluating unit is connected to the camera for receiving image signals therefrom.

This invention relates to a quality sensing device arranged at the output of a draw frame. The sliver, as it emerges from the output roll assembly of the drafting unit, passes through a sliver guide and a sliver trumpet, and the quality of the sliver may be measured.
In practice the quality of the drafted sliver is analyzed by examining the finished sliver outputted by the draw frame. The quality of the sliver, particularly the CV value of the mass uniformity, the mixture ratio and the sliver number is measured as the sliver passes through the sliver trumpet. In this arrangement a determination of, for example, the sliver mass deviations may be made only as related to the entire cross section of the sliver.

Draw frame including a sliver quality sensing camera


A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel including a thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate, a color filter substrate, a sealant, and a liquid crystal layer is provided. The TFT array substrate includes a substrate, a plurality of pixel structures, a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of data lines, and a light-shielding pattern. The scan lines and data lines are disposed on the substrate for controlling the operation of the pixel structures. The light-shielding pattern arranged on the periphery of the panel traverses the scan lines and data lines and is electrically insulated from the scan lines and data lines. The sealant is sandwiched between the TFT array substrate and the color filter substrate and is corresponding to the light-shielding pattern. The liquid crystal layer is disposed between the TFT array substrate, the color filter substrate, and the sealant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a LCD panel with a light-shielding pattern disposed at the periphery of the panel.
2. Description of Related Art
The rapid advancement in semiconductor devices and display apparatuses brings the rapid advancement of a multimedia society. As to display panels, thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD) has become the leading product in display market due to its characteristics such as high image quality, high space efficiency, low power consumption, and no radiation.
Generally speaking, a TFT LCD is composed of a TFT array substrate, a color filter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the two substrates. The surface of the TFT array substrate has a plurality of pixel regions arranged as an array, and each of the pixel regions contains a TFT and a pixel electrode for controlling the rotations of the liquid crystal molecules in the pixel region so that each of the pixels can produce grey scale of different color.
LCD panels can be categorized into vacuum injection and one drop fill (ODF) according to the injection of liquid crystal molecules. According to vacuum injection, first a TFT array substrate and a color filter substrate are assembled and an opening is left for injecting liquid crystal; the chamber of the liquid crystal injection apparatus and the space between the two substrates is then vacuumed and the liquid crystal injection opening is immersed in the liquid crystal, release the vacuum of the chamber, so that the liquid crystal is injected into the space between the two substrates by the pressure difference. According to ODF, first a pattern of sealant is dispensed on the periphery of the TFT array substrate and the liquid crystal are dropped into the display region of the TFT array substrate; after that, the TFT array substrate and the color filter substrate are assembled in a vacuum chamber; finally, the sealant is radiated and hardened by a ultraviolet. Compared to vacuum injection, ODF can reduce the time for injecting liquid crystal and the quantity of the liquid crystal; thus, presently ODF is generally used for injecting liquid crystal in large-size LCD panels.
FIG. 1A is partial cross-sectional view of a conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) panel fabricated through one drop fill (ODF). Referring to FIG. 1A, the LCD panel 100 includes a TFT array substrate 110, a color filter substrate 120, and a liquid crystal layer 130. The color filter substrate 120 is disposed above the TFT array substrate 110 in parallel, and the liquid crystal layer 130 is sandwiched between the TFT array substrate 110 and the color filter substrate 120. The LCD panel 100 is divided into a display region 100a and a sealant region 100b. The display region 100a is the part for displaying images. A sealant 140 is disposed in the sealant region 100b for bonding the TFT array substrate 110 and the color filter substrate 120. Generally speaking, the sealant 140 is formed by an ultraviolet curing adhesive, thus, the sealant 140 can only bond and fix the TFT array substrate 110 and the color filter substrate 120 after it is radiated and hardened by an ultraviolet light. If the sealant 140 is not completely hardened, it may contaminate those liquid crystal molecules in contact and may further affect the display quality thereof.
FIG. 1B is vertical view of the LCD panel in FIG. 1A. Referring to FIG. 1B, a plurality of scan lines 112 and data lines 114 perpendicular to each other are disposed on the TFT array substrate 110 of the LCD panel 100 for defining a plurality of pixel regions P arranged as an array in the display region 110a. Each pixel region P contains a pixel structure 116. Each pixel structure 116 includes a TFT 117 and a pixel electrode 118 electrically connected to the TFT 117 for controlling the on/off of the pixel through the TFT 117. Each TFT 117 includes a gate 117a, a source 117b, and a drain 117c. Wherein the gate 117a is electrically connected to the corresponding scan line 112, the source 117b is electrically connected to the corresponding data line 114, and the drain 117c is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 118 via a contact hole. One ends of the scan lines 112 and data lines 114 are extended to the periphery of the sealant region 110b and are respectively connected to a gate driver IC (not shown) and a source driver IC (not shown) so that each pixel can produce grey scale of different color.
However, when the LCD panel 100 has been assembled and put into operation, the light provided by a backlight module (not shown) disposed under the LCD panel 100 passes through the spaces between the scan lines 112 and the spaces between the data lines 114 in the sealant region 110b, and which causes light leakage at the periphery of the LCD panel 100.
To resolve the foregoing problem of light leakage at the periphery of the LCD panel, referring to FIG. 2, a plurality of floating metals 119 are disposed under the sealant 140 for light shielding. However, the floating metals 119 may cause residual charges due to capacitance coupling and which may further cause ESD damage, thus, the quality of the panel may be reduced. Besides, uneven capacitance coupling may reduce the signal consistence of the panel and may cause other parasitic effect.