A substrate; a silicon dioxide film formed on the substrate; a platinum lower electrode formed on the silicon dioxide film; a piezoelectric film formed on the platinum lower electrode; and an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric film, wherein the relationship between a film thickness (X) of the platinum lower electrode and a film thickness (Y) of the silicon dioxide film satisfies conditions of EQU 0.5.ltoreq.X/Y.ltoreq.4, and EQU 3,000 .ANG..ltoreq.X.ltoreq.2 .mu.m.

The present invention relates to a piezoelectric thin-film element and an ink-jet recording head using the same.
Conventionally, for example, in an ink-jet recording head or the like, an oscillator acting as a driving source for jetting ink is constituted by a piezoelectric thin-film element. Generally, this piezoelectric thin-film element has a structure provided with a piezoelectric thin film comprising polycrystal, and upper and lower electrodes disposed so as to hold this piezoelectric thin film therebetween.
This piezoelectric thin film is generally composed of a two-component system mainly containing lead zirconate titanate (hereinafter abbreviated to "PZT"), or a three-component system in which a third component is added to the PZT of this two-component system. The piezoelectric thin film having such a composition can be formed, for example, by a sputtering method, a sol-gel method, a laser ablation method, a CVD method or the like.
In addition, examples of conventional technique particularly relating to the present invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,315, and National Patent Publication No. Hei-5-504740.
In these conventional examples, after a silicon dioxide film is formed to be 2,500 .ANG. on a monocrystal silicon substrate by a thermal oxidation method, a lower electrode layer of aluminum, nickel, chrome, platinum or the like is laminated thereon with a thickness of about 0.2 .mu.m. Next, a PZT film as a piezoelectric element is laminated on the lower electrode layer with a thickness of 2 to 10 .mu.m by a sol-gel method. Next, after an upper electrode is laminated on this PZT film, a desired process such as etching, or the like, is effected selectively from the back surface of the monocrystal silicon substrate to thereby form an ink chamber. In such a manner, an ink-jet recording head is formed.
Such an ink-jet recording head is disposed in a printer or the like. Today, however, higher resolution is requested to be realized.
In order to improve such resolution of a printer, for example, it is considered to reduce the size of the ink chamber, or to make the thickness of the piezoelectric film thinner.
However, in the above-mentioned structure and manufacturing methods, if the thickness of the piezoelectric film is made to be 5 .mu.m or less, the boundary adhesion between the silicon dioxide film and the lower electrode film or between the lower electrode film and the PZT film is so reduced that there arises a problem that the reliability is deteriorated by the separation of the PZT film, the floating of the PZT film caused by the stress of the silicon dioxide film, and so on.
In addition, in order to obtain desired capacity of ink jetting, it is preferable to make the composition of the piezoelectric film not two-component PZT but three-component PZT.
However, when the composition of the piezoelectric film is made to be three-component PZT, it is necessary to make PZT be subjected to heat treatment at burning temperature of 800.degree. C., so that there is a problem that the adhesion between the lower electrode film and the PZT film is reduced.

Piezoelectric thin-film element and ink-jet recording head using the same


Systems and methods for communicating digital data over a group of conductors include encoding data based on electromagnetic parameter values associated with two or more group symbols each having an independent encoding value such that a mathematical function of the encoding values in the group symbols yields a known value and communicating the encoded data by applying signals associated with the electromagnetic parameter values to the group of conductors.

Decades of increases in transistor density on integrated circuit chips have far outpaced current strategies for getting information onto and off of the chips. The need to have a secure and reliable connection under a wide variety of operating conditions, while retaining the ability to assemble chips into larger modules, has placed hard minimums on the feature sizes of the input/output (I/O) connections. Advances in manufacturing and materials continue to increase the number of transistors that can be positioned on a chip at a rate that approaches the Moore's Law curve. However, the number and size of reliable off-chip connections has nearly reached physical limits. Many prior art approaches have attempted to address this problem.
One approach is to use multiplexed data/address busses. However, with modern microprocessors commonly using 64-bit data and address busses, and some using 128, 256 or more bits, even multiplexing is unable to keep up with the growth in processing power. Furthermore, the increase in processor speed combined with the use of multiple core processors has made even the short time required to multiplex data and addresses onto the same pins a relatively long or slow operation compared to the processing ability of the chip. As such, the I/O has become the rate limiting factor or bottleneck in the system.
As component size decreased, the original ubiquitous DIP package was replaced with miniDIP, and in turn surface-mount technologies like SOP, TSOP, QFP, Pin-Grid Array (PGA), Ball-Grid Array (BGA) and others, all in the attempt to further miniaturize I/O connections and to further increase the information density across the on/off chip interfaces.
In addition to physical packaging constraints, higher frequency signals that are more densely packed present challenges related to electromagnetic interference and cross-coupling of on-chip signals. In particular, as clocking speeds increased, coupling or crosstalk between signals increased, leading to adoption of differential-pair interconnections for transferring high-speed data. While addressing the signal coupling or crosstalk issue, this approach required two I/O connections for each I/O path and therefore did not contribute significantly to increasing I/O capacity.
XAUI, an attachment unit interface standard, and other grouped differential bus standards were created to enable very high speed clocking of the I/O path. However, these standards are also reaching limits as the data transfer speeds approach 40 gigabits-per-second (GBPS) to 100 GBPS. A separate clock (typically 1.25 GHz or a multiple) synchronizes transmitters and receivers at each end of the XAUI bus. Various types of encoding, such as 8b/10b or 64b/66b encoding may be used to aid in synchronization.
As more and more systems begin to incorporate on-the-fly audio and video encoding, it is likely that even combinations of all of the best current approaches will be taxed to keep pace with the ever-increasing bandwidth demands of people, the internet, and the processors that deliver the data.
Various coding strategies have been developed to transmit information over a limited bandwidth channel. One coding strategy used extensively in radio frequency (RF) applications is referred to as Quadrature-Amplitude Modulation (QAM). In this strategy, a sine wave has both its phase and amplitude changed simultaneously to encode information. A QAM diagram has phase and amplitude (or Q and I) axes, with designated "allowable" locations or values (also referred to as stations) for phase/amplitude combinations that define a QAM constellation. The QAM strategy may be referred to by an integer that corresponds to the number of stations in the constellation. As such, a QAM strategy having an arbitrary number "N" of stations in its constellation may be generally referred to as "nQAM".
For example, a typical nQAM with N=16 stations in its constellation (16QAM) may be represented as illustrated in FIG. 1. The vertical axis represents the "Q" (Quadrature or Phase) value of the modulated sine wave while the horizontal axis represents the "I" (In-phase or Amplitude) value. Each station, generally represented by station 20, within the constellation 30 is assigned a value that represents the bits 32 transmitted when that station is visited. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, each station 20 represents four (4) bits from 0000 to 1111. While a particular pattern of bits 32 may be assigned to any station 20, the stations are typically arranged and numbered using a GRAY code such that only single-bit-changes occur between adjacent stations. For example, station 24 has an associated bit pattern 34 of "0101". Adjacent station 26 has an associated bit pattern 36 of "0100" that differs from bit pattern 34 by a single bit. Similarly, adjacent station 28 has an associated bit pattern 38 of "0001" that differs from bit pattern 34 by a single bit.
Conventional implementations of a QAM coding strategy to transfer data use a base sine wave with one or more devices to provide near-instantaneous modification of the phase and/or amplitude of the sine wave to transition from one constellation station to another. One technique generates phase-locked sine and cosine waves, using the Q value to modulate the amplitude of the cosine wave, and the I value to modulate the amplitude of the sine wave. The two waves are then combined using a mixer to create the transmitted RF output. The channel bandwidth required for transmitting the data is determined by the symbol rate and Nyquist's theorem.
Multiple simultaneous streams of information can be transferred using wideband transmitters/receivers in combination with multiple center-carrier sine waves of different frequencies, separated by at least the bandwidth of each individual information stream.
Recent increases in demand for internet bandwidth-to-the-home have taxed the limits of earlier modulation techniques over the ubiquitous twisted-pair copper wires used for POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) delivery. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has responded to this rapid ramp-up in bandwidth demand by promulgating standards that continue to evolve. Beginning with DSL, the standards that provide additional bandwidth delivery include VDSL (G993.1) and VDSL2 (G993.2). These standards use RF over twisted-pair copper wires in combination with coding techniques such as QAM to create multiple subscriber bands over a single twisted pair.
While such standards are being used to address the bandwidth demands of multi-drop lines from a central office or headend servicing various subscribers, they are overly complex and not currently practical for typical digital systems where most of the information is transferred point-to-point with fan-out handled by dedicated nodes rather than multi-drop lines (e.g. single card, or backplane-interconnected cards, or wire-and-hub networking). At very high speeds, the stubs associated with multiple listeners become difficult to manage, and line reflections, in-coupled noise, and other issues quickly drive high-speed data systems to full-mesh point-to-point designs. Furthermore, attempting to reduce the size of the required encoders, transmitters, receivers, and decoders for VDSL and/or VDSL2 systems so that they could be used as generic chip-to-chip interfaces is beyond problematic.
Digital systems are prone to significant spectral emissions, especially as processor and data rates have continued to increase. To significantly reduce emissions, many modern designs use differential pair signaling and run the differential pairs for XAUIs and other high speed connections on interior layers of a chip or card sandwiched between ground and/or voltage planes to guarantee low radiated emissions from the high speed lines. Radiated emissions are generated in response to switching transients. For example, as a bit on a CMOS integrated circuit changes state from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0, the nature of the circuit design results in a brief moment when there is a relatively high current flow from power to ground, resulting in a current (and emissions) spike. The switching periods also account for the bulk of the power consumed in CMOS integrated circuits. This is true even for differential pairs, where the two wires are switched to opposite states. During the transition, there are high voltage and current transients in both wires. With perfect switching these transients would be exactly in synch and of opposite sign and would still cancel in the far field. Unfortunately, switching is rarely perfect so switching transients radiate even from well-matched differential pairs.
As such, the present disclosure recognizes a need for increasing the capacity of existing integrated circuit I/O without consuming significant on-chip resources or power budgets, and without a significant increase in radiated emissions.


A method, apparatus, and computer program product for storing and retrieving historical account statements for online display. Historical account statements are stored and made available for retrieval online by using a text version of an organization's statements stored for periodic printing and mailing of statements. The statement displayed for online viewing appears as a duplicate, in all material respects, of the printed and mailed statements.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to storage and online retrieval and display of historical account statements. The invention is more specifically related to a method, system and computer program product for storing and retrieving historical account statements for customers or members of organizations. More specifically, this invention relates to a method, system and computer program product for storing and retrieving historical account statements online by using a text version of the account statements stored for periodic printing and mailing of statements as a source of information for formatting and display.
2. Discussion of the Background
With the advent of the World Wide Web (web), many organizations such as businesses have published information regarding their products and services online for access by customers or members and prospective customers or members. Organizations such as financial institutions (e.g., banks, credit unions), credit card companies, utilities, gasoline companies, retail merchants, airlines, distributors and suppliers to other businesses typically mail paper statements reflecting account activity and account status on a regular periodic basis, for example, every month or every quarter. Using security features developed recently for web browser programs, organizations have begun to allow customers or members to access and view information regarding the customers' or members' account activity using web browsers. However, many programs developed to provide this type of information have involved operations of searching databases of the organizations to obtain requested information, followed by formatting operations to format the retrieved account information for suitable display on the accessing customer's or member's web browser.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,987 to Waits et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,831 to Waits et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,989 to Witt et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,725 to Bellinger et al. disclose systems in which information regarding customer transactions are managed.

Method, system and computer program product for historical account statements


A micro base station eNB-B, which is adjacent to a macro base station eNB-A and used in a cellular mobile communication system, comprises: a radio communication unit 110 that communicates with a radio terminal UE; and a control unit 150 that performs control to switch a power consumption state of the radio communication unit 110 on the basis of neighboring base station load information on a traffic load of the macro base station eNB-A adjacent to the base station.

In LTE (Long Term Evolution) standardized in 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) which is a group aiming to standardize a cellular mobile communication system, SON (Self-Organizing Network) is applied in which a radio base station is able to change setting relating to a base station without using any manpower. As one type of the SON, there is an energy saving technology in which a base station reduces its own power consumption (refer to Non-Patent Literature 1).
Furthermore, in LTE, and LTE Advanced, which is a sophisticated version of LTE, there has been proposed a network configuration in which a base station (hereinafter, a small base station) having transmission power lower than that of a macro base station is added to a radio communication network including the macro base station. According to such a small base station, since it is possible to complement a communication area of the macro base station or distribute the traffic load of the macro base station, it is possible to improve service quality.


The present invention provides a method of stabilizing immunoglobulins in a solution having a pH below 4 by adding cereals or hydrolysed cereal products in an amount sufficient to prevent degradation. The present invention also provides a health drink or sports drink comprising immunoglobulins in a solution having a pH of 2.7–3.8 containing cereals or hydrolysed cereal products in an amount sufficient to prevent degradation of the immunoglobulins.

Immunoglobulins, or antibodies, are a group of glycoproteins present in serum and tissue fluids of all mammals. There are five isotypes of Igs which all have a similar basic structure. The basic structure is a unit consisting of two identical light polypeptide chains and two indentical heavy polypeptide chains linked together by disulfide bonds. IgG is the major immunoglobulin in normal human serum accounting for 70–75% of the total immunoglobulin pool. The IgG class is the major antibody of secondary immune responses and the exclusive antitoxin class. Antibodies contribute to the protection against bacterial infections by agglutination and stimulation of phagocytosis.
Bovine colostrum, which can be defined as milk from the first three milkings or milk collected during the first 24 hours after parturition, is rich in nutrients, antibodies and growth factors. According to another, more common definition colostrum is obtained during the first three days after calving. It contains three classes of immunoglobulins, IgG, commonly divided into two subclasses IgG1 and IgG2, IgA and IgM. The main natural function of the colostrum immunoglobulins is to provide the newborn calf with passive immunity. The quality of colostrum is referred to its concentration of immunoglobulins; a good quality colostrum has >60 mg immunoglobulins/ml corresponding to >30 mg IgG1/ml.
Dietary exposure to bovine IgG can have several effects on the human immune system. As any foreign protein bovine IgG may represent a potent antigen and stimulate production of antibodies. Both bovine IgG subclasses bind to human monocytes, but only bovine IgG1 bind to human B cells. This binding to human mononuclear cells may influence the human mucosal and systemic immune responses. IgG1 of bovine origine has been shown to protect against infection by various enteric pathogens in animal and in humans.
There are many commercial products based on colostrum on the market, most of which are used as in the form of powder or tablets, beverages or food as nutritional food supplements or immune stimulants for health-oriented consumers and sports enthusiasts. Bovine colostrum supplementation in addition increases serum concentrations of growth factors and enables athletes to train harder, longer and more frequently.

Stabilization of immunoglobulins at low pH


Method and device for forming a membrane includes providing a glass substrate, and depositing a thin layer of chromium on the glass substrate. The thin layer of chromium is patterned to form a deflection electrode and interconnect leads. A sacrificial layer of aluminum is deposited on top of the patterned chromium layer, then the sacrificial layer is patterned to define anchor regions. On top of the sacrificial layer, a thick layer of chromium is deposited, and the thick layer of chromium is patterned to form a membrane. The sacrificial layer is then etched to release the membrane.

The present application is directed to micro-electro-mechanical methods and devices, and more particularly to such devices and methods for the manufacture of fluid drop ejectors to eject fluid drops such as and biological material, among others.
A MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) drop ejector has been disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/863,637 (Publ. No. 2001-0023523), titled "Method Of Fabricating A Micro-Electro-Mechanical Fluid Ejector", by Kubby et al., filed May 23, 2001, incorporated herein in its entirety.
The Kubby et al. application described a micro-electro-mechanical fluid ejector fabricated by a standard polysilicon surface micro-machine process, which can be batch fabricated at low cost using existing external foundry capabilities. In addition, it is disclosed that the surface micro-machine process is proven to be compatible with integrated micro-electronics, allowing for monolithic integration of the actuator with addressing electronics. A voltage drive mode and a charge drive mode for the power source actuating a deformable membrane is also disclosed.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an electrostatically actuated diaphragm 100 such as disclosed in Kubby et al. in the relaxed state. Substrate 120 is typically a silicon wafer. Insulator layer 130 is typically a thin film of silicon nitride, Si3N4. Conductor 140 acts as the counter or deflector electrode and is typically either a metal or a doped semiconductor film such as polysilicon. Membrane 150 is made from a structural material such as polysilicon, as is typically used in a surface micromachining process. Nipple 152 is attached to a part of membrane 150 and acts to separate the membrane from the conductor when the membrane is pulled down towards the conductor under electrostatic attraction when a voltage or current, as indicated by power source P, is applied between the membrane and the conductor. Actuator chamber (where a fluid may be located) 154 between membrane 150 and substrate 120 can be formed using typical techniques such as are used in surface micromachining. A sacrificial layer, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) oxide is deposited, which is then covered over by the structural material that forms the membrane. An opening left in the membrane (not shown) allows the sacrificial layer to be removed in a post-processing etch. A typical etchant for oxide is concentrated hydrofluoric acid (HF). In this processing step, nipple 152 acts to keep the membrane from sticking to the underlying surface when the liquid etchant capillary forces pull it down.
The standard surface micromachining process to manufacture drop ejectors such as shown in FIG. 1, among others, is limited to silicon substrates, thus restricting the size of a device array. In order to implement larger arrays, such as full-page-width ejector using a device array, a new fabrication process is required. It is therefore desirable to provide a method of manufacturing and new devices which allow for large area arrays as well as other improvements.

Surface micromachining process of MEMS ink jet drop ejectors on glass substrates


A method for testing an integrated circuit device includes subjecting the integrated circuit device to an applied magnetic field during the application of one or more test signals, the applied magnetic field inducing magnetostriction effects in one or more materials comprising the integrated circuit device; and determining the existence of any defects within the integrated circuit device attributable to the applied magnetic field.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuit device testing techniques and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for implementing integrated circuit (IC) device testing with improved SPQL (shipped product quality level), reliability and yield performance.
The traditional integrated circuit fabrication process is a series of steps by which a geometric pattern or set of geometric patterns is transformed into an operational integrated circuit. An integrated circuit consists of superimposed layers of conducting, insulating, and device-forming materials. By arranging predetermined geometric shapes in each of these layers, an integrated circuit that performs the desired function may be constructed. The overall fabrication process consists of the patterning of a particular sequence of successive layers.
Defects in integrated circuit structures may be caused by many factors. Some defects are due to imperfections in the underlying semiconductor crystalline structure, while others are caused by imperfections in the physical structure of the circuit components and connections. For instance, a "dislocation" is a physical defect in the structure of the semiconductor crystal (e.g., silicon) at a very small scale. A dislocation may involve as few as four or five silicon atoms oriented differently than the other atoms in the crystal. A dislocation can impair the electrical function of a chip by causing threshold voltage shifts or leakage current. However, due to the nature of most dislocations, a dislocation is not easily detected. Furthermore, since the electrical activity of a dislocation defect can increase with the passage of time/accumulated charge, the continued application of heat and voltage after fabrication can cause circuit failure.
In addition to dislocation type defects mentioned above, other defects may also occur at contact points within a circuit or module. A contact point is the region located at the top or bottom of an opening between layers that allows an electrical contact to be made to individual layers. These contact points may become stressed during the fabrication process and develop an undesirable resistance to the passage of electrical current that may ultimately impede circuit performance. Ideally, these contact points will transmit an electrical current or signal with very little or no resistance. However, as these contact points develop increased resistance, they may eventually prevent the components within an integrated circuit from responding correctly. In an extreme case, a contact point may be so damaged as to create an open circuit, leading to an inoperative circuit or device. Damage to the contact points may be caused by stresses such as heating and cooling.
Another type of defect that can adversely affect circuit performance is what is known as a "stacking fault." A stacking fault occurs when there are localized partial displacements of closely packed silicon planes that upset the normal crystal lattice structure. Stacking faults are common in integrated circuits and tend to increase as the device density increases. Yet another common defect is what is known as a "high resistance strap." In general, a strap is a layer of doped polysilicon that is used as an interconnection between components of a chip. A strap may have a constriction or crack in the polysilicon that results in the strap having a higher than normal resistance. Still another known type of defect in integrated circuit devices the existence in micro-cracked metallurgy formed over topographic device features and in via structures.
Each of the various types of manufacturing defects discussed above gives rise to decreased yield, increased "shipped product quality level" or "SPQL" (which is a metric describing the ratio of bad parts shipped to total parts shipped—as discovered by a customer), and increased device failures over time in the field (i.e., decreased reliability). Accordingly, one existing solution to address at least some of these metrics is the implementation of module level burn-in testing, which is designed to find defects in an integrated circuit.
Generally speaking, burn-in testing includes subjecting a circuit to a higher than normal voltage and temperature to stress the circuit components. Burn-in testing can be performed directly in-situ on the wafer, or at a later time such as when the individual integrated circuits have been packaged and incorporated into a finished module, component, or product. For example, once a wafer has been processed, the overall wafer is tested for defects. A probe device is connected to the contact pads for each die located on the periphery or spine of the individual integrated circuits. This allows each integrated circuit to be connected to an electrical source and a reference ground to supply an operational current.
The wafer is typically tested at voltage levels approximately 1.5 times the rated nominal value. For example, a typical circuit on a wafer may be designed to operate with a supplied voltage level of approximately 3.3 volts. Therefore, in this specific example of burn-in testing, the circuit will be operated at a voltage level of approximately 5-6 volts. This enhanced voltage level will create a flow of electricity and enhanced electric fields throughout the circuit which are greater than normal. While this stress is greater than the stress applied to the circuits during normal operations, the applied levels of current and the resulting electrical fields are controlled during burn-in testing so that they will not adversely affect the integrated circuit, but will only trigger defects so that they may be located and eliminated.
During the burn-in testing period, the circuitry on the wafer is electrically "exercised" or tested. However, due to the nature of certain defects, many of the defects listed above may not be readily apparent during standard burn-in testing. This is because the effects of many common defects increase only with the passage of time/accumulated charge, or with the continued application of heat and/or voltage to the affected components. As such, conventional module level burn-in provides limited success at the expense of yield.
Another solution, described by the Applicant of the present application in U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,181 (and assigned to the assignee of the present application) also involves module level burn-in, but in an environment that further simulates a card attach process step into the fabrication process, prior to conventional module burn-in testing. In other words, this technique essentially emulates customer activity by introducing a "thermal bump" step into the burn-in process that simulates the temperature conditions experienced when a chip is attached to a circuit card. In this manner, the thermal bump induces or accelerates the failure of certain weak modules and thus allows for identification of faulty modules during subsequent reliability testing steps, thereby resulting in a reduced SPQL as well as better reliability.
Notwithstanding the above described testing techniques, however, it would be desirable to implement even further improvements in integrated circuit device testing techniques that result in improved SPQL and reliability performance, but also in a manner that maintains/improves yield performance as well.

Method and apparatus for implementing IC device testing with improved SPQL, reliability and yield performance

International Business Machines Corporation


In the present invention, when an organopolysiloxane is produced by a dealcoholization condensation reaction between a silicon atom-bonded hydroxy group and a silicon atom-bonded alkoxy group, a quaternary ammonium ion-containing compound such as an alkylammonium hydroxide compound or a silanolate thereof is used as a catalyst. The catalyst for the dealcoholization condensation reaction of the present invention is easily removed after use and is stable. For this reason, when an organopolysiloxane is produced using the aforementioned catalyst, it is not necessary to use complicated production steps or a large amount of the catalyst.

Conventionally, various basic substances, for example, basic metal salts such as potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, barium hydroxide or the like are used as a catalyst for producing organosilicon compounds such as an organopolysiloxane and the like via a condensation reaction of a silicon atom-bonded hydroxy group, a silicon atom-bonded alkoxy group, or other silicon atom-bonded functional groups.
On the other hand, in Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S46-21602; Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S47-44040; Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H04-225031; and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H05-43694, a tetramethylammonium hydroxide compound is known as a catalyst for obtaining an organopolysiloxane with a high molecular weight by means of ring-opening polymerization of a cyclic siloxane with a low molecular weight such as octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane or the like. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-328231 describes that a silsesquioxane derivative having a ladder or random structure is produced by co-hydrolyzing and co-condensing two types of trialkoxysiloxanes, and tetramethylammonium hydroxide is used in the Examples.
In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. S59-176326 describes a method for making a diorganopolysiloxane with a low molecular weight in which both terminals of the molecular chain thereof are blocked with hydroxy groups have a high molecular weight, in the presence of a filler such as silica or the like using, as a catalyst, a reaction mixture of a quaternary phosphonium hydroxide compound and a diorganosiloxane with a low molecular weight.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S46-21602
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S47-44040
[Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H04-225031
[Patent Document 4] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H05-43694
[Patent Document 5] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. S59-176326
[Patent Document 6] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-328231

Catalyst for dealcoholization condensation reaction and method for producing organopolysiloxane using the same


A steering column assembly includes a column jacket adjustable along a longitudinal axis and collapsible along the longitudinal axis in response to a collision event. A compression bracket is mounted to the column jacket and defines a telescope slot having an adjustment portion and a continuation portion. A shaft extends through the telescope slot with the column jacket and the compression bracket moveable relative to the shaft during adjustment and collapse of the steering column assembly. A stop is detachably coupled to the compression bracket and partially covers the telescope slot to prevent movement of the shaft into the continuation portion during adjustment. The stop detaches during collapse to permit the shaft into the continuation portion. A lever rotates with the shaft and includes a tab for engaging the stop when the lever is in an unlocked position to prevent detachment of the stop during adjustment.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a steering column assembly, and more specifically a telescopically adjustable and collapsible steering column assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many telescopically adjustable steering column assemblies include a compression bracket coupled to a column jacket that is longitudinally moveable along a longitudinal axis. Typically, the compression bracket defines a telescope slot through which a rake bolt extends. The column jacket moves relative to the rake bolt along the longitudinal axis with the rake bolt moving within the telescope slot between a full-out position in which the column jacket is fully extended and a full-in position in which the column jacket is fully retracted. In the event of a collision, the steering column assembly is collapsible to absorb energy and reduce the likelihood of injury to a driver. In order to provide a sufficient collapse stroke, the telescope slot is often lengthened, e.g., includes a continuation portion beyond the full-in position. However, there is nothing to prevent movement of the rake bolt into the continuation portion when adjusting the position of the steering column assembly.

Telescopically adjustable steering column assembly including an adjustment stop having minimal effect on impact loads


An interactive troubleshooting assistant and method for troubleshooting a system in real time to repair (fix) one or more problems in a system is disclosed. The interactive troubleshooting assistant and method may include receiving multimodal inputs from sensors, wearable devices, a person, etc. that may be input into a feature extractor including attention layers and pre-processing units of a cloud computing system hosted by one or more servers, such as a private cloud system. A pre-processing unit converts the raw multimodal input into a structed form so that an attention layer can give weights to features provided by the pre-processing unit according to their importance. The weighted extracted features may be provided to an actions predictor. The actions predictor generates the most suitable action based on the weighted extracted features generated by the feature extractor based on the multimodal inputs. After the most suitable action is performed, the interactive troubleshooting assistant considers new information from multimodal inputs so that the interactive troubleshooting assistant can provide the next recommended action. The interactive troubleshooting assistant may repeat these operations until the repair is completed.

During manufacturing or operations, components, equipment, and processes of a system can fail partially or completely due to any number of reasons and these components, equipment, and processes must be repaired to continue system operations. Troubleshooting is needed to examine the state of a system and identify symptoms of one or problems (issues) with the system so that an initial diagnosis or cause of the one or more failures in a system can be determined. A field engineer or technician may be dispatched to troubleshoot the problem on the site of the system and may attempt to follow a standard procedure to fix the problem, which may provide an initial recommended solution. The initial standard procedure may include a sequence of instructions to take certain actions. However, the field engineer or technician may or may not have the correct parts and tools to follow the standard procedure and to take these actions. In addition, the initial diagnosis made by the field engineer or technician to fix the problem may or may not be accurate. Further, as the field engineer or technician is in the process of repairing or fixing the one or more problems based on the initial recommended solution, the state of the system may change during the standard procedure and therefore new information is generated. However, existing troubleshooting systems do not consider new information, which is generated during the real time repair of components, equipment, or processes of a system and which is generated during inspection of the system by a field engineer or technician. Thus, the existing troubleshooting systems provide a static diagnosis and static solution, which may include a static set of instructions or actions to be taken by a field engineer or technician. Accordingly, there is no method or apparatus to dynamically update the initial diagnosis and dynamically change the initial set of instructions or actions to be performed by the field engineer or technician.
In addition, during installation of a new system, an installer such as a filed engineering or technician may follow a static set of installation instructions for installation of a new system. Accordingly, there is no method or apparatus to dynamically update the installation instructions and dynamically change the initial set of instructions or actions to be performed by the field engineer or technician during installation.
There is a need in the art for a system and method that addresses the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An image forming apparatus includes a correction unit configured to execute first correction processing to be executed to bring reproduction characteristics of an image formed by an image forming unit close to a target value and second correction processing different from the first correction processing, and an adjustment unit configured to execute a plurality of adjustment processing including the second correction processing, wherein correction processing by the correction unit is set to be executed at a predetermined timing, and wherein in a case that correction processing by the correction unit is executed at the set timing after adjustment processing is executed by the adjustment unit, the image forming apparatus performs control not to execute the second correction processing included in the adjustment processing and to execute the second correction processing after executing the first correction processing by the correction unit.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which performs control to optimize adjustment processing performed within the apparatus according to an execution reservation of calibration.
Description of the Related Art
Some of recent electrophotographic method image forming apparatuses are equipped with an internal adjustment function executed at startup. The internal adjustment function is to automatically execute "cleaning of each unit in the apparatus", "adjustment processing", "in-apparatus density adjustment" for stabilizing output, and the like immediately after startup of the image forming apparatus. One example of the in-apparatus density adjustment is a correction unit using a patch image formed on an intermediate transfer member. The patch image is read by a sensor disposed near the intermediate transfer member, and a measurement result is reflected in various image formation conditions, such as a voltage condition and laser power, so that a maximum density and a halftone characteristic can be corrected.
The in-apparatus density adjustment is performed other occasion than the startup of the apparatus in some cases. Output characteristics of the electrophotographic method image forming apparatus varies according to a degree of use of the image forming unit or a change in an ambient environment. Thus, the in-apparatus density adjustment is automatically executed every certain number of outputs, so that an image quality can be kept at a certain level without troubling a user.
In addition, many image forming apparatuses are equipped with an "on-paper density adjustment" function for further stabilizing output of their own. The on-paper density adjustment is to read a patch image formed on a sheet by a predetermined measurement unit and reflect a read result in the above-described image formation conditions. Since the output characteristics of the image forming apparatus when actually forming an image on a sheet is reflected, when compared to the previously described in-apparatus density adjustment, output stabilization can be realized more accurately in response to a use environment of a user and a sheet type.
Generally, when a user instructs execution of calibration by himself or herself for stabilization of image quality, both of the on-paper density adjustment and the in-apparatus density adjustment are often performed in turn. First, the on-paper density adjustment is performed, and correction is performed using a measurement result of the output characteristics when an image is formed on a sheet. Then, after performing the on-paper density adjustment, the in-apparatus density adjustment is performed. This process is performed for creating a target value for the in-apparatus density adjustment to be performed every certain number of subsequent outputs.
A user who requires a certain level of accuracy for image output instructs execution of calibration by himself or herself when starting up the image forming apparatus. At that time, same processing is overlapped in the in-apparatus density adjustment included in the internal adjustment function to be executed immediately after the startup of the apparatus and in the in-apparatus density adjustment included in the calibration processing to be then executed in response to the instruction of the user. The overlap of the processing causes problems of not only generation of an unnecessary wait time from the startup of the apparatus to the completion of the calibration but also progression of toner consumption and wear and tear of the image forming unit.
As a method for solving the problems, a method is discussed for avoiding overlap of calibration execution instructions (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-212918). In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-212918, a method is discussed which performs control, when instructions to execute same type calibration are overlappingly issued, not to execute the calibration latterly instructed.
However, according to the above-described conventional technique, if a user issues an instruction to execute calibration immediately after the startup of the image forming apparatus and during execution of the internal adjustment processing, the in-apparatus density adjustment included in the internal adjustment processing is performed. Then, when the calibration instructed by the user is executed, the in-apparatus density adjustment included in a series of the processing is not performed. In other words, the in-apparatus density adjustment using a measurement result of the output characteristics when an image is actually formed on a sheet is not performed. Therefore, an original image stabilization effect cannot be achieved in some cases in the above-described in-apparatus density adjustment to be performed every certain number of outputs.
Thus, the present invention is directed to realization of an image forming apparatus which can reduce a wait time and consumption of consumable products while maintaining an image quality to which a measurement result of the output characteristics when an image is actually formed on a sheet is reflected.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method


A brake traction control valve is disclosed. The brake traction control valve includes a valve core, a shell, an armature, an exciting coil, a plunger, and a return spring. The valve core has an inlet to allow inside and outside of the valve core to communicate with each other, and a valve seat provided with an orifice therein. The shell having a dome plus cylinder shape is coupled to the valve core to cover one end of the valve core. The armature is placed in the shell to move forward and backward. The exciting coil is placed around the shell to cause the armature to move forward and backward. The plunger is placed in the valve core to move forward and backward to selectively open and dose the orifice while moving forward and backward by the armature. The return spring returns the plunger and the armature to open the orifice. The plunger includes a first body brought into contact with the armature, a second body connected to one end of the first body to move forward and backward so as to selectively open and close the orifice, and a relief spring provided between the first and second bodies so that the second body is pushed by oil pressure when the oil pressure increases above predetermined pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a brake traction control system capable of preventing a wheel slip on a road surface, and, more particularly, to a brake traction control valve having a relief function, which spontaneously opens a hydraulic line to prevent an excessive increase in pressure of brake oil pressurized by a hydraulic pump when traction control is performed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, brake traction control is a technology applied to an Anti-lock Brake System (ABS). A traction control system spontaneously detects a wheel slip and brakes an automobile even when a driver does not depress a brake pedal, thus preventing a further wheel slip.
A hydraulic circuit to which the brake traction control system is applied, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a Normal Open (NO) valve 3 placed on a hydraulic line connected from a master cylinder 1 to wheel cylinders 2, a Normal Close (NC) valve 4 placed on a return hydraulic line from the wheel cylinders 2, a hydraulic pump 5 designed to generate a braking pressure by re-pressuring brake oil returning from the wheel cylinders 2, a low-pressure accumulator 6 and a high-pressure accumulator 7 placed upstream and downstream of the hydraulic pump 5 to accumulate pressures of circulated brake oil, respectively, and an Electronic Control Unit (ECU; not shown).
The hydraulic circuit is also used to perform brake traction control, and further includes a first bypass hydraulic line 8a connecting a hydraulic line connected to an outlet side of the master cylinder 1 with a hydraulic line connected to an inlet side of the hydraulic pump 5, a reciprocating hydraulic valve 8 placed on the first bypass hydraulic line 8a to be normally opened and be dosed when a driver depresses a brake pedal 11, a traction control valve 9 placed on a hydraulic line connecting the outlet side of the master cylinder 1 with an outlet side of the high-pressure accumulator 7 to be normally opened, and a relief valve 10 placed on a second bypass hydraulic line 10a connecting the outlet side of the high-pressure accumulator 7 with the outlet side of the master cylinder 1.
In the conventional brake traction control system, when a wheel slip is detected during a start of an automobile, the hydraulic pump 5 is operated under the control of the ECU and, thus, a braking pressure is applied to the wheel cylinders 2. At this time, the traction control valve 9 and the NC valve 4 are kept dosed, so that brake oil located on the outlet side of the master cylinder 1 is drawn into the hydraulic pump 5 through the reciprocating hydraulic valve 8, and the hydraulic pump 5 implements braking of the automobile by pressurizing the drawn brake oil. In the above-described process, when braking pressure formed on the outlet side of the hydraulic pump 5 is excessively high, the relief valve 10 is opened and brake oil flows toward the master cylinder 1 through the second bypass hydraulic line 10a, thus maintaining appropriate braking pressure.
However, the conventional brake traction control system is disadvantageous in that it is complicated and voluminous because it must be provided with the second bypass hydraulic line 10a and the relief valve 10 to prevent an excessive increase in pressure on the outlet side of the hydraulic pump 5.


A multi-port memory device has a memory cell array including one or more memory blocks each of which has a plurality of memory cells arranged in rows and columns, and a plurality of dummy cells, with one dummy cell being provided for each row of memory cells in each of the memory blocks so that the dummy cells are connected with associated ones of the word lines extending in the row direction. The dummy cells are further connected with dummy cell bit lines extending in the column direction. Sense amplifiers are connected to receive outputs of those memory cells in the memory cell array which are selected in a memory cell selection operation and outputs of those dummy cells among the plurality of dummy cells which are selected in the memory cell selection operation for amplifying differences between the selected memory cell outputs and the selected dummy cell outputs. Precharging and shielding arrangements are also provided for improved operation.

The present invention relates generally to a multi-port memory device. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with techniques which can be utilized effectively and profitably for realizing among others, three-port RAM (Random Access Memory) devices and the like which are included, for example, in digital switch integrated circuits serving as time switches in a time-sharing digital exchange.
Such a multi-port memory is known which is provided with a plurality or multiplicity of access ports including write ports and/or read ports. Further, there is also known a time-sharing digital exchange in which a digital switch integrated circuit including the multi-port memory device is used as a time switch.
The multi-port memory requires a plurality of word lines and bit lines to be provided in correspondence to the individual access ports. Consequently, as the number of the access ports increases, the layout area required for implementing the multi-port memory increases with the layout design becoming more intricate and complicated. As an approach for coping with this problem, there has already been proposed a three-port RAM device such as shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawing with a view to achieving reduction of the required layout area and simplification of the layout design by implementing the read bit line by a single-ended or simplex line. More specifically, in the three-port RAM device known heretofore such as shown in FIG. 1, each of static type memory cells MC constituting a memory cell array MARY includes as a basic component a latch circuit constituted by a pair of inverters N6 and N7 cross-coupled to each other. The latch circuit has non-inverted and inverted input/output nodes which are coupled to non-inverted and inverted signal lines such as write bit lines BW0* (representing collectively a non-inverted write bit line BW0 and an inverted write bit line BW0) through a pair of write control MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Type Field-Effect Transistor; hereinafter, the insulated-gate field-effect transistor will collectively be referred to as MOSFET in abbreviation) Q63 and Q64 having respective gates coupled to a write word line WW0, and which are additionally coupled to read bit lines BRA0 and BRB0 through read control MOSFETs Q65 and Q66 having gates coupled to corresponding read word lines WRA0 and WRW0, respectively.
The read bit lines BRA0 and BRB0 are coupled to a power supply of the circuit via associated load circuitries or resistors R1 and R2, respectively, on one hand and coupled to input terminals of associated sense amplifiers SAA and SAB, respectively, on the other hand. The resistors R1 and R2 are imparted with such predetermined resistance values that level drop or lowering of level on the read bit line BRA0 or BRB0 falls below a logical threshold value of the sense amplifier SAA or SAB when the read control MOSFET Q65 or Q66 of the memory cell MC is turned on. In the sense amplifier SAA, the non-inverted output signal is delivered as a read data signal DRA, while from the sense amplifier SAB, the inverted output signal is delivered as a read data signal DRB. In this way, in the three-port RAM shown in FIG. 1, the read bit line is, so to say, simplexed (i.e. a single bit line is employed for each of the non-inverted output bit line and the inverted output bit line) by using the so-called single-ended sense amplifiers SAA and SAB in an effort to reduce the layout area required for implementation of the three-port RAM while simplifying the layout design.
For further particulars of the three-port RAM in which the read bit line is simplexed (or single-ended), reference may be made, for example, to JP-A-57-60586 (laid-open on Apr. 12, 1982).

Multi-port memory device having precharged bit lines


Methods and apparatus for mixing a plurality of gases, preferably a fuel and an oxidant. The preferred embodiments are characterized by methods and apparatus for mixing at least a methane-containing gas and an oxygen-containing gas, preferably natural gas and molecular oxygen. The preferred embodiments of the present invention include a mixing section having a centrifugal mixer with a tangential inlet where the mixed gases are then injected at an angle into the reactor section. The oxidant and the fuel are mixed by the tangential motion of the fuel to form a reactant gas that then flows through a permeable mixing material that is also disposed within the chamber. The reactant gas injected at an angle into a reactor inlet chamber provides a substantially unobstructed path between the reactor and a pressure relief device.

Natural gas, found in deposits in the earth, is an abundant energy resource. For example, natural gas commonly serves as a fuel for heating, cooking, and power generation, among other things. The process of obtaining natural gas from an earth formation typically includes drilling a well into the formation. Wells that provide natural gas are often remote from locations with a demand for the consumption of the natural gas.
Thus, natural gas is conventionally transported large distances from the wellhead to commercial destinations in pipelines. This transportation presents technological challenges due in part to the large volume occupied by a gas. Because the volume of an amount of gas is so much greater than the volume of the same number of gas molecules in a liquefied state, the process of transporting natural gas typically includes chilling and/or pressurizing the natural gas in order to liquefy it. However, this contributes to the final cost of the natural gas and is not economical for formations containing small amounts of natural gas.
Formations that include small amounts of natural gas may include primarily oil, with the natural gas being a byproduct of oil production that is thus termed associated gas. In the past, associated gas has typically been flared, i.e., burned in the ambient air. However, current environmental concerns and regulations discourage or prohibit this practice.
Further, naturally occurring sources of crude oil used for liquid fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, and diesel fuel have been decreasing and supplies are not expected to meet demand in the coming years. Fuels that are liquid under standard atmospheric conditions have the advantage that in addition to their value, they can be transported more easily in a pipeline than natural gas, since they do not require liquefaction.
Thus, for all of the above-described reasons, there has been interest in developing technologies for converting natural gas to more readily transportable liquid fuels, i.e. to fuels that are liquid at standard temperatures and pressures. One method for converting natural gas to liquid fuels involves two sequential chemical transformations. In the first transformation, natural gas or methane, the major chemical component of natural gas, is reacted with oxygen to form syngas, which is a combination of carbon monoxide gas and hydrogen gas. In the second transformation, known as the Fischer-Tropsch process, carbon monoxide is reacted with hydrogen to form organic molecules containing carbon and hydrogen.
Catalytic partial oxidation is one process used to form syngas and attempts to perform all of the partial oxidation reactions on a highly active catalyst in order to convert the hydrocarbon catalytically at a high rate. For example the contact times of catalytic partial oxidation may be on the order of milliseconds. Thus, for catalytic partial oxidation, it is preferable to premix a hydrocarbon-containing feed, such as methane or natural gas, with a molecular oxygen-containing feed at high temperature, pressure and velocity in order to enable the catalytic reaction to proceed at short contact times so that the chemistry occurs at the correct stoichiometry throughout the catalytic zone.
Therefore, an often desired component of a commercial scale operation is an apparatus to premix the hydrocarbon-containing gas, such as methane or natural gas, and the molecular oxygen-containing gas, such as air or substantially pure O2, at high temperature, pressure, and velocity. The same feed conditions that are conducive to efficient operation of the partial oxidation process, however, could lead to reactions that are less desirable, and possibly even hazardous, such as the ignition and combustion of the feedstock. At the same time, it is desirable to mix the feed gases as completely as possible, so as to maximize the efficiency of the catalytic reaction.
One problem with such mixing processes is that heated mixtures of oxygen and methane, at pressures of interest for syngas production, are highly reactive and can be explosive. Thus, it is often preferred to utilize techniques that increase the controllability of the process and to avoid pre-ignition and pre-reaction of the gases. One technique used in mixing the reactants is to place the mixing nozzles very close to the reaction zone such that there is a very short time between the reactants being mixed and contacting the catalyst. This technique often involves placing the mixing apparatus in close proximity to the reactor, which may make maintenance of the mixing apparatus difficult and requires that the mixer be designed to withstand the extreme environment of a partial oxidation reactor.
Another problem encountered in the design of these types of mixers is that high concentrations of oxygen, or oxygen rich gas, impacting components of the mixer at high velocities can cause damage to components of the mixer. This high speed contact can lead to oxygen impingement and a thermochemical reaction that may damage, and even destroy, components of the mixer.
Another concern in the design of mixing apparatus for catalytic partial oxidation reactions is allowing for the release of gases in the case of an emergency or backlight situation, where the gases in the mixing apparatus ignite and cause a dramatic increase in pressure. Because a catalytic partial oxidation reaction is potentially highly reactive, it is often preferred to provide for the release of gases in the event that the reaction becomes uncontrollable.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for methods and apparatus to improve the mixing of natural gas and oxygen to feed a catalytic partial oxidation process. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and apparatus for mixing that seek to overcome these and other limitations of the prior art.

Feed mixer for a partial oxidation reactor


Method for optimizing the print path of an articulated marking head during the application of a data string of segmented characters. The controlling program which implements the optimized marking head sequence provides for skipping unused line segments within a given data string, thus eliminating unnecessary marking head travel and lessening print cycle time.

The present invention relates broadly to marking or printing systems, and particularly to a method for marking the surface of objects with a sequence of indentation-defined or spray-marked segmented characters.
As industry has continued to refine and improve production techniques and procedures, corresponding requirements have been levied for placing machine readable identifying, data related markings upon components of manufactured components. With such marking, the history of a product may be traced throughout the stages of its manufacture and components of complex machinery such as automobiles and the like may be identified, for example, in the course of investigations by governmental authorities. The call for identification, however, not only is concerned with the application of sequential, alphanumeric strings to completed products, but also to component parts of fabrications such as automobiles and piece parts as they may progressing through an industrial process, and to tags which may be attached to these parts.
A variety of product marking approaches have been employed by industry. For example, laser etching and ink and paint spraying of codes, such as dot matrix or segmented characters, have been employed for many manufacturing processes. Where the production environment is too rigorous, however, or subsequent painting steps are involved, such an approach has been found to be unacceptable with more permanent markings being required. Use of lasers to mark the surface of products or other, painted surfaces, has generally failed to overcome these same concerns.
The provision of a permanent or traceable marking upon hard surfaces, such as metals, traditionally has been achieved with marking punches which utilize dies and carry a collection of fully formed characters. These "full face dies" may be positioned in a wheel or ball form of die carrier which is manipulated to define a necessarily short message as it is dynamically struck into the material to be marked. As is apparent, the necessarily complex mechanisms involved are prone to failure and full face dies exhibit rapid wear. Generally, the legibility and abrasion resistance of the resultant marks can be considered to be only fair in quality. Additionally, the marking punch approach is considered a poor performer in marking such surfaces as epoxy coatings and the like.
A technique that has been successful in the marketplace for generating permanent markings upon the surfaces of somewhat malleable materials such as metals and plastics is described by Robertson in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,999 entitled "Program Controlled Pin Matrix Embossing Apparatus." Such technique involves a computer controlled dot-matrix marking device utilizing an array of pneumatically-driven tool steel punches to generate human and/or machine readable dot characters or codes. Marketed commercially under the trade designation PINSTAMP.RTM., these devices employ one or more of the noted steel pins in a head assembly which is moved relative to the workpiece being marked to impart permanent dot-matrix characters or machine readable codes into a surface. The system enjoys the advantage of providing characters of good legibility as well as permanence. Additionally, a capability for directional formation of messages or codes is realized.
Robertson et al., in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,018, entitled "Marking Apparatus with Matrix Defining Locus of Movement", issued Feb. 28, 1989, describe a dot-matrix character impact marking apparatus which is capable of forming messages or arrays of characters within a very confined region. With this device, a linear array of marker pins is moved by a carriage in a manner defining a predetermined undulating pattern of movement in a vertical raster-type fashion resembling a compressed square wave. This pattern traces the matrix within which individual characters are formed by individual marker pins. Each marking pin within the head assembly of this device is capable of marking more than one complete character for a given traverse of the head between its limits of movement.
Robertson et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,106, issued May 14, 1991, and entitled "Marking Apparatus with Multiple Line Capability" describe a dot-matrix character impact marking apparatus which achieves a multiple line capability wherein a carriage component carrying one or more marker pin cartridges moves within a singular plane pattern of movement. This multiple line capability advantageously has permitted a broad variety of line configurations, for example in widely spaced positions at a workpiece. The device further employs a retrace method in generating a pattern of marking movement fixed in a predetermined pattern somewhat similar to the formation of a horizontal raster associated with television displays. As before, the device performs in conjunction with a predetermined character defining matrix of pixel positions, each position of the matrix being identified to the system by a timing disk physically maneuvered with the drive components. This apparatus is designed to print dot-matrix characters.
Robertson el al., in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,397, entitled "Marking Apparatus With Multiple Marking Modes", filed Jul. 31, 1992, describe a matrix form of character marking utilizing a single plane undulatory motion of the pin cartridge carrying carriage, as well as a capability for the above-described raster form of pattern of movement. This flexibility is achieved through the utilization of software changes as opposed to the insertion of hardware-based timing components and the like. The system disclosed exhibits a capability for full form character formation. This requires the actuation of the marker pins in a manner wherein discrete dots or pixels are not observable, the indentations formed by these pins being so closely nested as to evoke the image of a continuous line forming each character. This device is effective for generating segmented characters or character segments.
There are many human-readable fonts available, but they are have the disadvantage of being slow to print and difficult to recognize using machine readers. The machine reading of dot-matrix characters and codes following their formation may be carried out by a video based system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,741, by Robertson, entitled "Electronic Code Enhancement for Code Readers", issued Feb. 21, 1989.
Certain marking applications of the dot-peen variety call for the use of a single marking pin as opposed to an array of pins. Guidance of this form of single pin typically has been carried out under robotic control. One such system currently is marketed under the trade designation "TMP 6000" by Telesis Technologies, Inc., of Circleville, Ohio, the original assignee of the present application.
Applying spray-marked segmented characters to products for identification purposes is well-known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,571, issued to Schmoll, discloses a character generation marking device comprised of a plurality of selectively-actuable spray nozzles mounted in a fixed, predetermined pattern for effecting the placement of line segments on an object. The apparatus disclosed by Schmoll is capable of marking segmented characters with the number of characters being limited to the number of spray nozzles employed. Furthermore, Schmoll requires a great deal of space in which to operate and is incapable of optimizing the path of the print nozzles during the print cycle since the nozzles are fixed in relation to the object being marked. Also, Schmoll neither suggests nor discloses the advantage of optimizing the path of the nozzles in order to speed up the printing cycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,971, issued to Uhl et al., also discloses an actuation system for a rotating print wheel for printing segmented characters onto moving objects, wherein a rotating print cylinder, housing seven actuable segments, attracts ink from a stationary ink cartridge for transference to said object. However, since the segments are fixed on a print drum, there is no provision for optimizing the movement of the drum based upon the number of segments, i.e., the particular character or character string being printed. Since the movement of the print drum is not alterable based on the characters being printed, the print cycle from one character string to another will not vary. Like Schmoll, Uhl et al. requires a great deal of space in which to operate.
Ideally, there should be a method of applying a segmented code which can be quickly and accurately implemented within a limited space while being both human and machine-readable.


A drum type washing machine, where steam and hot water are supplied to heat wash water, including: a water tub for containing wash water; a rotating drum rotatably mounted in the water tub and having, at a peripheral wall thereof, a plurality of through holes; a heating tank for heating water and generating steam; a water supply unit for supplying water into the water tub and the heating tank; and a steam supply pipe, adapted to guide the steam from the heating tank to the water tub, connected to the water tub In this drum type washing machine, the temperature of wash water can be rapidly increased in accordance with steam and hot water supplied into the water tub. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the overall wash time while reducing the amount of wash water to be used.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine and a method of use thereof, and more particularly to a drum type washing machine in which steam and hot water are supplied into a washing tub to rapidly increase the temperature of wash water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drum type washing machines generally perform a laundry washing process by raising laundry, together with wash water, along a cylindrical rotating drum containing the laundry and wash water, and subsequently dropping the laundry and wash water, during rotation of the cylindrical rotating drum. An example of such a drum type washing machine is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2001-149685. This drum type washing machine is configured to perform a washing process using heated wash water.
The disclosed drum type washing machine includes a water tub for containing wash water, a rotating drum rotatably mounted in the water tub and provided with through holes for spin-drying at a peripheral wall thereof, and a heater for heating the wash water contained in the water tub. In a wash cycle of the drum type washing machine, washing of laundry is carried out as the rotating drum rotates within the water tub at a relatively low speed under the condition in which wash water and detergent have been supplied into the water tub. In order to effectively wash the laundry, the wash water is used in the wash cycle in a state of being heated by the heater.
However, the disclosed drum type washing machine has a problem in that a great deal of time is required to heat the wash water to a desired wash temperature. This is because a large amount of wash water supplied into the water tub is heated entirely by the heater disposed at the bottom of the water tub, which increases the overall wash time.
Furthermore, the conventional drum type washing machine wastes wash water because the wash water must fill the heater case installed at the bottom of the water tub. Energy is also wasted because it is necessary to heat the water contained in the heater case.

Drum type washing machine with heater using steam and hot water


The invention relates to a boring machine, particularly for woodworking, for boring rows of holes and structural bores in plate-shaped workpieces such as cabinet sidewalls, cabinet doors, etc., with a machine frame having a workpiece holder and an adjustable multi-spindle boring assembly arranged over the workpiece holder, a fixed, longitudinally oriented workpiece stop being mounted on the back of the workpiece holder, and which has a stop fixture consisting of stop rails aligned parallel to and projecting laterally at the longitudinal sides of the workpiece holder and whereat adjustable and lockable stop receivers can be introduced into the stop rails, the stop receivers receiving spring-loaded stop platelets, which project at the surface of the workpiece holding fixture, but which can be brought into a pushed back position. The operation of the boring machine is simplified and facilitated in that the multi-spindle boring assembly is adjustable and lockable vertically to the longitudinal sides of the workpiece holder, that "n" stop strips with holding fixtures for stop receivers are combined into a stop roller with n angles in the cross-section, that the stop roller can be brought into n angular positions below the workpiece holder, whereby the stop platelets of the stop rail facing an opening in the workpiece holder project through this opening.

The invention relates to a boring machine, particularly for woodworking, for boring series of holes and structural bores in plate-shaped workpieces such as cabinet sidewalls, cabinet doors, etc., with a machine frame having a workpiece holder and an adjustable multi-spindle boring assembly arranged over the workpiece holder, a fixed, longitudinally oriented workpiece stop being mounted on the back of the workpiece holder, and which has a stop fixture consisting of stop rails aligned parallel to and projecting laterally at the longitudinal sides of the workpiece holder and whereat adjustable and lockable stop receivers can be introduced into the stop rails, the stop receivers receiving spring-loaded stop platelets, which project at the surface of the workpiece holding fixture, but which can be brought into a pushed back position.
A boring machine of this type is known through DE 33 38 943. In this known boring machine, the stop receivers with the stop platelets are set and locked in the stop rails for the desired boring pattern of the workpiece. The two stop rails are arranged in alignment behind one another and are adjusted in opposite directions by means of adjusting spindles. The operation of the boring machine is quite difficult for a complicated and irregular boring pattern, particularly because the operational so changes as a function of the boring pattern.
It is the object of the invention to provide a boring machine of the type mentioned at the outset, which can be used to incorporate the most varied of multi-row boring patterns of a workpiece into the workpiece with simple operations.
The invention achieves this object in that "n" stop strips with holding fixtures for stop receivers are combined into a stop roller with angles in the cross-section, that the stop roller can be brought into angular positions below the workpiece holder, whereby the stop platelets of the stop rail facing an opening in the workpiece holder project through this opening, and in that the stop roller assumes a defined position with respect to the workpiece holder independently of its angular position in the axial direction.
The stop roller with "n" stop rails permits presetting of "n" rows of hole grids, the adjustment requiring only setting the stop roller in the correct angular position and bringing the multi-spindle boring assembly to the correct spindle and the correct distance from the fixed rear-side stop of the workpiece holder.
In a preferred development, the stop rails have an undercut receiving groove and are combined into a one-piece shape section to reduce component requirements and to simplify the locking of the stop receiver; this is achieved in a simple way in that the stop receivers can be fastened in any position by means of a screw and a nut on the stop roller guided in the receiving groove of the stop rail.
If provision is made in a development for removable mounting of the stop roller in the machine frame, a stop roller with a setting for quite specific bore pattern can be used again and again for such workpieces without further setting procedures. In addition, use can be made of a number of stop rollers, which have a fixed adjustment for different boring patterns.
The adjustment of the stop roller in different angular positions is simplified in that a rotating attachment is assigned to the stop roller, which can be used to turn the stop roller in "n" angle steps in 360 degrees.
For setting the stop receivers with the stop platelets, one advantageous development is characterized in that the edge of the opening facing the forward longitudinal edge of the workpiece holder is designed at the top as a graduated scale or is connected with a graduated scale.
The operation of the boring machine is also facilitated in that the spindles of the multi-spindle boring assembly bear markings that correspond to markings on the stop rails.
The workpiece holder does not impede rotation of the stop roller if the opening in the workpiece holder flares out toward the underside of the workpiece holder, and if the edges of the opening bring the stop platelets into the pushed back position on passing the opening when the stop roller is turned counter to the swiveling direction of the stop platelets.

Boring machine, particularly for woodworking


A clip for clamping an object (25) has a clip body (5) where a pair of clip members (1, 2) are pivotally connected to each other, clamping force increasing members (6, 7) for increasing a clamping force of the clip body; and fixing means (8) for supporting the clamping force increasing members on the clip body. The clamping force increasing members have slip prevention sections (6a, 7a) disposed between leading ends of the clip body and clamped by the clip body together with the object, and have also transmission sections (6b, 7b) connected to the slip prevention sections and fixed to the clip members by the fixing means, to cause the friction force that the slip prevention sections receive from the object to be transmitted to the clip body.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a clip and to a hanger comprising the clip.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
Clothing articles such as skirts, trousers and the like are transported and displayed while clamped by clips provided in hangers. The clothing article is likely to fall off when using a clip having insufficient clothing clamping force. On the other hand, using a clip having an excessive clothing clamping force gives rise to marks at the portions of the clothing article clamped by the clip, while making it harder to remove the clothing article from the clip.
Increasing the force with which the clothing article is clamped, and enlarging the surface area over which the clothing article and the clip come into contact, to increase the friction force therebetween, are known means for preventing the clothing article from falling off (see Patent document 1).    Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-237038


A disposable device is provided for culturing and/or packaging and transporting ready-to-use viable cells cultured on membranes, gels or micro porous substrata. The device includes a housing base defining an interior for culturing cells. The membrane to be used for culturing the cells is placed inside the housing base and fixed with a ring. The base is closed by a lid, which is designed to protect the underlying cells during transport as well as minimize the volume of media used during culture, as well as transport. Media leakage is prevented by the silicon gasket as well as the snaps provided in the device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of biological cell culture equipment and more particularly to devices for culturing and transport of cells. The present invention involves devices that can be used to support a film, membrane or sponge for the purpose of isolation, expansion, transportation and/or transplantation of cells.
2. Description of Related Art
Cell culture is a process of growing and maintaining cells under laboratory conditions. This process involves isolating the cells from animals or plants, and growing and maintaining the living cells in laboratory devices using artificial culture media to support their basic biological functions. Cell cultures are derived from either primary tissue explants or from cell suspensions. Depending on the nature of the isolated cells, the cells can be either of the adherent or the suspension type. Various methods are known in the art for growing cells in both large scale and small scale cultures.
Various cell culture devices are commercially available in several shapes and designs, the most widely used conventional forms being culture flasks and dishes. The flasks are provided with caps, while the dishes are available as individual or multi well dishes, and are provided with lids.
Typically available individual culture dishes include a base for containing the cultures and a lid to cover the container. The primary purpose of the culture dish is to support cell growth. For practicing cell culture, cells isolated from the tissues are seeded in the culture device along with the nutrient media to nourish the cells, followed by incubation in a controlled. environment. A transparent material like polystyrene is preferred in the manufacture of cell culture dishes to enable visualization of the cultured cells under a microscope.
Conventional cell culture dishes require protection against microbial contamination for successful cell growth, since contamination is one of the principal challenges to successful cell and tissue culturing techniques. Culture dish contamination is typically minimized by using sterilized dishes. The lid serves as a barrier to airborne microbes and prevents evaporation of the media. Conventional cell culture plate lids, however, serve only as a barrier to microbial contamination and do not provide a tight seal that prevents spillage of the contents during transport of the cell cultures.
Specific cells are cultured in dishes under sterile conditions to a desired state of growth for specialized purposes as in the case of medical, scientific or industrial requirements. Following growth, however, these cells have to be removed from their growth environment and shipped to the required end users. For transport of the cultured cells, the cells have to be separated from the dish using enzymes like trypsin, placed within cryoprotectants and shipped under liquid nitrogen. After the cells arrive, they must be re-cultured to maintain their viability. In addition to the time and resources required in re-culturing the cells, this necessity results in significant delays while waiting for the cells to grow to the desired state. The hostile transport conditions also result in considerable loss in viability of cells as well as high shipping costs.
Currently, cell based therapies are being practiced at least in the areas of skin, cornea, cartilage, etc., and the use of cultured cells for medical applications is growing rapidly. There is a growing need, therefore, for an efficient method of delivering cells to the site of transplantation. Cells for use in transplantation therapies can be grown either as monolayers on suitable membranes as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,332 and/or as differentiated into multilayers as published in U.S. Publ. No. 2003/0208266A1 (each incorporated herein by reference in their entireties) before transplantation, or the cells can be cultured on foams or sponges, which can then be transplanted. The important factors involved in membrane-based cell delivery systems include, attachment, viability, cell density, and control over differentiation. The delicate relationship between the cell layers and the membrane can be disturbed during shipment due to movement shear, tear and/or other mechanical damage to the individual cells and their contacts with each other, thus destroying confluence of the monolayer and rendering the cells useless. Although the cells can be cultured on membranes in culture dishes, their transport in the same dishes is not feasible.
Culture flasks were developed to address the problem of contamination in cell culture dishes. Conventional flasks typically have a culture chamber, a small tubular opening located at one end of the flask, and a corresponding closure. The principal designs for various culture flasks are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,334,028, 4,851,351 and 5,398,837 (each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). As these culture flasks require a relatively large amount of expensive media in order to be filled completely, they are not cost effective. Conventional flasks are also not suitable for the growth of cells for transplantation, as a film or membrane cannot be placed inside the flask to grow cells for transplantation.
Further to dishes and flasks, roller bottles have also been developed for cell culture. Roller bottles offer a larger surface area for cell attachment and growth. Due to the presence of high shear forces associated with these roller bottles, however, this technology is suitable only for those cells that are capable of remaining adhered to the wall of the roller bottle. Also the maintenance of cell cultures in roller bottles for longer periods poses a challenge due to a constant high shear force environment and possible contamination. U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,598 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) involves attaching and growing cells on the interior surface of plastic or glass roller tubes and bottles. Other aspects of roller bottle technology are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,527,705 and 4,962,033 (each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). Further improvements to roller bottles with increased surface areas for cell attachment are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,013 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), wherein corrugated channels are added to the interior surface area of the roller bottle. Roller bottles still suffer various inefficiencies, however, including not providing sufficient aeration to the cells, thus diminishing their viability.
More recently, the use of hollow fibers or capillaries has been disclosed as a support matrix for the propagation of cells. This technology is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,821,087, 3,883,393, 3,997,396, 4,184,822, 4,200,689, 4,206,015, 4,220,725, and 4,391,912 (each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety), wherein various apparatus and methods for the in vitro growth of cells on semi-permeable tubular membranes or capillaries are disclosed. The cells are initially allowed to settle onto the surfaces of the capillary walls in a nutrient medium. The nutrients diffuse from the perfusing medium through the capillary walls and are utilized by the cells. Cell products diffuse from the cells through the capillary walls and into the perfusate, from which cell products may be recovered. Unfortunately, nutrient media flow through the hollow capillaries prevents complete penetration of the capillary bundle by the cells and the resultant undesirable gradient of the medium flow leads to incomplete utilization of the available capillary surface for cell attachment. This results in the cells becoming unevenly distributed along the surface. Furthermore, these devices require high media circulation rates to supply adequate oxygen to the cells, and these devices have the additional disadvantages of being mechanically complex, difficult to assemble, and unduly large.
Considering the state of the art, there is a continuing need for an efficient and economical device for culturing, expansion and transport of cell cultures, and it would be beneficial to provide a device suitable for culturing and transporting cell monolayers attached to permeable membranes that are ready to use upon delivery.

Device for culturing and transporting cells


A vehicular indicator device for a hybrid vehicle which is provided with vehicle drive power sources in the form of an engine and an electric motor and which is driven in one of a plurality of vehicle drive modes including an EV drive mode, a series HV drive mode and a parallel HV drive mode that is automatically selected according to a vehicle drive power, said indicator device being configured to indicate the selected vehicle drive mode and said vehicle drive power, the vehicular indicator device being configured to indicate a running state of the hybrid vehicle as represented by said vehicle drive power and said selected vehicle drive mode, in a two-dimensional coordinate system on a display screen, which coordinate system is defined by said vehicle drive power and said selected vehicle drive mode.

There is known an indicator device for a hybrid vehicle having a plurality of drive modes one of which is selected according to a vehicle drive power, which indicator device is configured to indicate the selected drive mode and quantities relating to running conditions of the vehicle. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of such an indicator device for a hybrid vehicle. The hybrid vehicle of this Patent Document 1 is arranged to select one of a first drive mode for driving the hybrid vehicle with an engine held at rest, and a second drive mode far driving the hybrid vehicle with both of the engine and an electric motor. The indicator device of the Patent Document 1 is provided with a first indicator portion for indicating an operation amount of an accelerator pedal, and a second indicator portion including a drive mode indicator area. This drive mode indicator area is divided into a first indicator region for indicating that the selected drive mode is the above-described first drive mode, and a second indicator region for indicating that the selected drive mode is the above-described second drive mode. A division line indicating a boundary between the first and second indicator regions is displayed in the above-described second indicator portion, in relation to the accelerator pedal operation amount.


A passive solar collector utilizes a support constructed of precisely machined foam to simplify the construction and calibration of the reflective surface. Further improvements include sensor-based positioning, and a receiver having inflow and outflow conduits adapted to improve thermal efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the field of passive solar collectors, including improvements in the support for the reflective surface of the collector and methods of making, improvements in the receiver element, and controls for moving the collector to track the apparent trajectory of the sun.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of solar technology promises to reduce the damage to the earth's environment brought about by the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. Accordingly, increased attention has been devoted recently to ways to make this technology more efficient and economical.
Solar energy is conventionally harnessed in one of two ways: with a photovoltaic device, in which solar radiation generates electric current directly; or with a passive solar collector, in which solar radiation is incident on a receiver carrying a heat transfer fluid. The heat transfer fluid may then be used to drive a turbine, or other power generating device.
Passive solar power generation facilities have been built on a large scale in the United States, wherein heated water drives turbines generating power in the 10s to 100s MW range per facility. However, the large scale and technological complexity of these apparatus has hampered their development. In particular, it has not generally been possible to expand this technology downward, into applications where less power is generated, or where the heated water is used for heat or hot water directly, as opposed to for generating power. The glass reflectors and complex tracking mechanisms used in these power generating facilities are prohibitively expensive for the smaller end use.
There are also commercial solar thermal energy systems operated for medium temperature usage, in a range of about 80° C. to about 250° C. Typically, these are flat collectors set on a fixed inclination facing south.
A more efficient solution is to provide a focusing reflective surface in the shape of a parabola, so that the sun's rays are concentrated on a receiver positioned in the focal line of the parabola carrying a heat transfer fluid. The collector pivots to track the apparent movement of the sun from East to West.
One problem with the focusing collector systems in the past has been the difficulty of forming and calibrating a reflective surface in the required parabolic shape. The curved surface of the reflector in these apparatus must be precisely calibrated, which requires skill and training.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,540 proposes a method for making a solar collector from a mold using an amorphous, hard-curing material, such as stucco or cement, to address the problem of maintaining a surface with specified dimensions. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0078380 describes a complicated system of brackets designed to support reflector panels at a given curvature. Neither of these systems provides a reliable, inexpensive system for providing a reflector with a desired curved surface.
Thus, there is a continued and increasing need for systems wherein the curvature and position of the reflector can be rapidly and reliably determined.
Conventionally, the receiver element of a passive solar collector has been encased in an evacuated glass tube, such as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0078380. Such devices improve collector efficiency by reducing the convective heat loss from the receiver to the surrounding environment, but such systems are complex, costly, and difficult to maintain. Thus, there is a need in this art for a receiver element that is efficient without requiring a vacuum tube.
A solar collector works most efficiently if it is pointed at the sun. Although various tracking systems are known, some of which may be adapted for use with a solar collector, there continues to be a need in the art for a tracking system that points the collector at the sun so that the maximum amount of solar radiation is collected, and such that temporary cloud cover, night fall, and other low-sunlight incidents do not cause a failure of the system to accurately track the apparent trajectory of the sun.